Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1201 to 1225 of 4914 results

1201. The Death of John the Baptist

Matthew 14:1-12, Mark 6:14-29, Luke 9:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

On the news one day a short while ago --some of you may remember this—we heard that eight young high school boys viciously attacked and gang raped an 8 year old girl, a special needs child. One by one, they took turns raping her and beating her until at last she died. The town was shocked. These were their star varsity players…their A students...their church acolytes...their beloved sons. How could this happen? It's called “peer pressure.” A similar thing happened in the case of a young college freshman, ...

1202. The Infiltrator

John 10:1-21, John 10:22-42

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: visual of Solomon’s Porch on the east side of the Jerusalem Temple / visual of David’s threshing floor The Infiltrator is a 2016 movie about the true-life take-down of Pablo Escobar’s drug trafficking ring. The hero is federal agent Robert Mazur. The movie tells the story of Mazur’s infiltration of the famous money laundering crime family in-order-to expose them and tumble them down from their impenetrable perch. That meant it had to be an inside job. Beautifully symbolic, the big reveal happens at a ...

1203. Proper 18

Psalm 139:1-24, Philemon 1:8-25, Philemon 1:1-7, Jeremiah 18:1--19:15, Luke 14:25-35

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

The Price Of Discipleship In the mid-1960s President Lyndon Johnson introduced a so-called war on poverty. At about the same time he got involved in escalating the American participation in the Vietnam war. It soon began to cost about two billion dollars per month. He was unwilling to raise taxes. The attempt to wage the wars on two fronts, domestic and international, soon affected the economy adversely. Through the Nixon, Ford, and Carter administrations the effects of deficits sent inflation rates up ...

1204. Miracle Six: Stilling A Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon Aid

Harold H. Lentz

BACKGROUND MATERIAL Jesus sometimes got into a boat and headed for the farther shore in order to be free of the demands of the crowd who now followed him in great numbers. On this day he was weary from his work and from arguing with the scribes who constantly took issue with his pronouncements. He was on the Sea of Galilee, also known as Lake Gennesaret. The lake was about eight miles wide and twelve miles long, so it would take at least an hour to make the crossing. Because of his weariness Jesus lay down ...

1205. Promises Kept In Unusual Way

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

General Douglas MacArthur was one of the great heroes of World War II. He was greatly admired by many people, and well loved by the people of the Philippines. One reason for the admiration and love was that he kept an important promise. When the Japanese invasion forced MacArthur to retreat from the Philippines, he promised he would return. Standing in the water in March 1942, before he embarked on a voyage to the safety of Australia, the general promised, "I shall return." And he did. In October 1944, ...

1206. 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 ...

1207. Advent 2

Mark 1:1-8, 2 Peter 3:1-18, Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon Aid

E. Carver McGriff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 40:1-11 This poetic oracle begins what is generally thought of as "Trito-Isaiah," apparently addressed to returnees from the country of Babylon. While in exile there, many of the Jews remained firmly faithful to their own culture, having nothing to do with the Babylonians. Many others, though, had allowed themselves to be integrated into the local culture. But there was a third group, those who didn't quite fit into either group. These people were confused, unsure of their ...

1208. 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 ...

1209. Receive The Holy Spirit

John 20:19-23

Sermon

Larry Powell

"It is my heart-warming and world-embracing hope," said Mark Twain, "that all of us - the high, the low, the rich, the poor, the admired, the despised, the loved, the hated, the civilized, and the savage - may eventually be gathered in a heaven of everlasting rest and peace and bliss, except the inventor of the telephone." Mark Twain obviously held a great dislike for the telephone, probably because, among other things, it renders a person to be easily accessible, even when they prefer to be inaccessible. ...

1210. It Dawned on Me

Sermon

Ron Lavin

"What good does faith do me now?" I remember thinking that when Jesus was arrested and tried that first Maundy Thursday. "If a good man like Jesus has to go through all this, what kind of a just God is there? Maybe the unbelievers are right." My name is Matthew. I have come back to tell you about the week you have come to call holy. I was a tax collector before I became an apostle. Everything was going so well until that Thursday of the longest weekend in the world. When it dawned that Thursday in holy ...

1211. PROPER 29

Ezekiel 34:1-31, Matthew 25:31-46, 1 Corinthians 15:12-34

Bulletin Aid

First Lesson: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 Theme: God is a shepherd to his people Call to Worship Pastor: God is aware that his people often feel lost like sheep who have no shepherd. People: We cannot live without divine guidance to lead us through life. Pastor: God loves all his people, and promises to lead us like a shepherd who loves his sheep. People: We trust in God to keep us under his protective love! Collect Gracious Father, who cares for your children like a faithful shepherd: Be near us in all our ...

1212. Advent 4

Isaiah 7:1-25, Romans 1:1-17, Matthew 1:18-25, Psalm 24:1-10

Sermon Aid

CSS

THEOLOGICAL CLUE A quarter of a century ago, there was a movement in Great Britain by the Joint Liturgical Group to move Christmas (and other festivals, too) to a Sunday to encourage greater attendance and participation in the festive worship. This did not happen formally (in fact, the anticipated 1980 merger of the Anglican Church with several Protestant communions did not occur, either), but the Fourth Sunday in Advent, through liturgy and lections and popular piety, has clearly taken the shape of " ...

1213. Lent 5

Psalm 116:1-19, John 11:38-44, John 11:17-37, John 11:1-16, Romans 8:18-27, Romans 8:1-17, Ezekiel 37:1-14

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The Fifth Sunday of Lent has not only lost its name, judica, but it has also lost its liturgical function, which was quite positive in the pre-Vatican II liturgy; it used to announce the beginning of the holiest part of Lent, the two weeks of the Passion of Our Lord. Now it is simply part of Lent, and, practically, the Last Sunday in Lent, introducing the week before Holy Week. Again, the theological, and therefore the liturgical/homiletical, clue comes more from the Gospel for the Day ...

1214. What Form of Church Does God Want for the Furture?

Romans 12:1-8, Romans 12:9-21

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

A farmer who had never been to the city was chosen by his grange to represent them at a national convention, and thus he found himself in New York. After checking in at the hotel, he approached an elevator, something he had never seen. He watched as a very large woman walked into the elevator. The door closed, what appeared to be a single hand on a large clock made a revolution, and the door opened again, this time discharging an attractive, curvaceous young lady. The astonished farmer ran to the nearest ...

1215. When Our Children Teach Us

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

James W. Moore

Some years ago, the Journal of the American Medical Association published an article by Dr. Paul Ruskin on the “Stages of Aging.” In the article, Dr. Ruskin described a case study he had presented to his students when teaching a class in medical school. He described the case study patient under his care like this: “The patient neither speaks nor comprehends the spoken word. Sometimes she babbles incoherently for hours on end. She is disoriented about person, place, and time. She does, however, respond to ...

1216. Peace in the Midst of the Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Fear Factor. Do you watch that show? Neither do I. In fact, of all the so-called reality shows on TV these days, that is the one I would be least likely to watch. It is based on the premise of seeing what can be done to make someone "lose it" in front of millions of people. Up to your neck in snakes, rats, maggots, whatever, and how long can you last. Oh goody. Fear, of course, is something that is common to all of us. Truth be told, many of our fears are baseless - we are afraid of and worry about things ...

1217. Lazarus Laughed

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I have always felt sorry for Lazarus. I mean, dying once is bad enough; but this poor fellow had to go through the whole ordeal a second time! And for what? At first glance, it seems as though he was recalled to this earth for the mere purpose of fortifying his sister’s faith. Then he would have to go through the process of dying once again. We are all familiar with the story. Jesus receives the news while He is in Perea that His friend Lazarus is ill. He says, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I ...

1218. Confession And Supplication

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The text for our message this morning comes from the 4th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Church at Philippi, the 4th chapter, the 4th through the 7th verses. Hear the word of the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord always. "Again I say, rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance, the Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the piece of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and your ...

1219. How Moses Handled Stress

Numbers 11:4-35

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I once saw a list of professions ranked according to the degree of stress that can be found in that vocation. I looked for "minister." It wasn't there. I assumed there must be a mistake, so I looked under "clergy." It wasn't there, either. I looked under "pastor," and "priest." Not there. Later somebody told me that, as a matter of fact, ministry is considered one of the least stressful vocations. Which meant that all the worrying I've done for the last thirty years was for nothing. The fact of the matter ...

1220. For All the Saints

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Good morning, saints! Good morning, sinners! We're all here. And all that we are is here. The month of September is still warm and green, even though late in the month autumn officially begins. October is marked by cooler temperatures. But the shameless displays of gaudy, glorious colors dull the impact of the real changes that are creeping up on us. November can no longer disguise the grey-on-grey that cloaks the Pacific Northwest. We are a part of the country that embodies the word "watershed." The ...

1221. Proper 7

Psalm 86:1-17, Romans 6:1-14, Matthew 10:1-42, Genesis 21:8-21

Sermon Aid

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

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The Old Testament lesson of Hagar's salvation in the wilderness follows immediately upon the story of Sarah's miraculous birth that was the lesson for last week. Thus Genesis 21:8-21 provides a second story of salvation, but the context for understanding salvation shifts somewhat from last week. Instead of a miracle story to underscore how anything is possible for God—as was the case with Sarah—salvation this week is Hagar's liberation from oppression. An examination first of the ...

1222. Freedom Faith Brings

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

James Merritt

January 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt shared with America what has become known as "The Four Freedoms." He believed that all people should enjoy freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Those degrees have been wide achieved in America. Freedom and America are practically synonymous. America is known as the land of the free. We have political freedom; we are a democracy, and therefore a free society. We have economic freedom; we are capitalists who believe ...

1223. The Blessing Complex

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

I know of someone who would have understood the stock market these past few weeks. I don’t mean The Great American Taxpayer Robbery by the Boardroom Bandits. No one I know can understand that 700 billion Main Street bailout of Wall Street. Is there any other word than “hypocrisy” when fat-cats want to privatize profits but socialize losses? By the way, did you know that every child born into the world begins life saddled with a $175,000 debt? And that was before the 1 trillion hijacking of Main Street by ...

1224. A New Continuing

John 14:8-17, 25-27

Sermon

David R. Cartwright

That first Pentecost was a grand and glorious day. It was a new beginning. On that special day, God's people were reborn through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It was an extraordinary event. As Luke's Gospel reports it, all kinds of marvelous things took place on that day. As Jesus' disciples were all gathered in one place, there was first the sound of a mighty wind; then tongues of fire appeared and rested on each one of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in all kinds ...

1225. When You Have To Face Your Own Personal Goliath

1 Samuel 17:1-58

Sermon

James W. Moore

For most of us… most days are pretty good days. We have - So many blessings to count, - So much to be thankful for, - So much to appreciate, - So much to celebrate, - So much to rejoice about, - So much to enjoy on most days. But, every now and then… all of us have a “Bad Day.” I decided to explore that reality a little bit this past week,… so I asked a number of people to complete this sentence: “You know its gonna be a bad day when…” How would you complete that sentence? Well, here are some of their ...

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