Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1201 to 1225 of 4508 results

1201. The Silent Minute

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

Mr. Tutter Pole was the instigator of the famous “silent minute.” At 9 p.m. during World War II when Big Ben in London began striking, millions of people throughout the world prayed this prayer: “May Thy will be done on earth. Show me how to do my part.” In the introduction to Mr. Pole’s book, Written on the Ground, it is mentioned that after the war when a British intelligence officer was inte...

1202. Fasting

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

6:16–18 A third highly esteemed religious duty among the Jewish people was fasting. In addition to the fast on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:31 is interpreted in this way), there were fasts connected with mourning (e.g., 1 Sam. 31:13), with times of distress (e.g., Ps. 35:13), with preparation for a theophany (e.g., Deut. 9:9), and with other times of special significance. Fasting was thought to s...

1203. My dear friends, let us play.

Sermon

Kendall McCabe

Yes, you heard me correctly. Now is a time for play. In fact, today the church begins that time of the year when we do our most serious playing. And playing is a serious business, you know. Ask any teacher of children. Better still, watch children at play. No wonder they are tired at the end of the day. They work hard at playing. They take it seriously. Play is the child's laboratory for learnin...

1204. The Mark Upon Us

Sermon

Lee Griess

One of the most striking television movies made in the last few years was one called Helter Skelter. It was the story of the cult worship and murder spree by the Charles Manson family in California nearly three decades ago. In the closing moments of the movie, Charles Manson and the members of his so-called family are shown on the screen with their heads shaved and big "X" marks on their foreheads...

1205. When We're Estranged from God

Sermon

King Duncan

It’s an old story, but it bears repeating. An armed robber accosted a French priest on a dark, back street in Paris and demanded his wallet. As the priest opened his coat to reach for his wallet, the thief caught sight of his clerical collar, and immediately apologized. “Never mind, Father, I didn’t realize you were a priest. I’ll be on my way.” The priest was relieved, of course, and good-nature...

1206. Fasting: Foolish or Fruitful?

Sermon

Today, fasting is a lost practice. Since Vatican II, Catholics do not require fasting. Except for Episcopahans and Lutherans, most Protestants do not know what fasting is. And very few Lutherans and Episcopalians take fasting seriously. Yet, fasting has always been a part of religious devotion, both Christian and non-Christian. For instance, the Bible takes fasting for granted. In looking for a te...

1207. Lessons In How To Give, Pray, And Fast

Bulletin Aid

H. Burnham Kirkland

Call To Worship Leader: Create in us pure hearts, O God, People: and put a new and loyal spirit in us. Leader: Do not banish us from your presence, Lord; People: do not take your Holy Spirit away from us. Leader: Give us again the joy that comes from your salvation; People: and make us willing to obey you. Collect Almighty God, we come before you in the quiet of this sanctuary, and in the company...

1208. Consecration Fasting

Bulletin Aid

Leader: Jesus said, "When you fast do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show me they are fasting." Congregation: True fasting involves the heart. Leader: Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Congregation: True fasting involves the heart. Leader: Is fasting only for bowing one...

1209. The Darkness of the World

Drama

Angela Akers

(Suggested ways to present this reading: Have one reader present it while PowerPoint images of crosses and other religious imagery plays in the background. Play instrumental music in the background and have one or more people present an interpretive dance that follows the outline of the reading.) God breathed His love Into a form, And gave us life. Abundant life The gift of grace— to see God’s f...

1210. Escape from the Island of Spiritual Sloth

Sermon

Frank G. Honeycutt

I was noodling around on the internet not long ago, doing some research on the "Seven Deadly Sins," and came upon what has surely been an overlooked theological resource in explaining the mysteries of what Gregory the Great, in the sixth century, called "a classification of the normal perils of the soul in the ordinary conditions of life." There is quite a bit of material out there referring to t...

1211. An Excuse to Be Better

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Lent. A fascinating time in the church year that Presbyterians and other Protestants are only beginning to appreciate. The name Lent has nothing to do with something previously loaned - it comes from an ancient word that meant "springtime," - that period of the calendar during which the days lengthen. Because the church season always fell at that time of year, the name came to apply there as well....

1212. Giving It Up for Lent

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Lent is not normally thought of as an occasion for levity, but ... a Catholic priest working in an inner city was walking down an alley one evening on his way home when a young man came down the alley behind him and poked a knife against his back. "Give me your money," the young man said. The priest opened his jacket and reached into an inner pocket to remove his wallet, exposing his clerical col...

1213. Internal Medicine

Sermon

King Duncan

Mussa Zoabi of Israel claims to be the oldest person alive. He says he's 160 years old. Unfortunately, Guinness Book of World Records isn't going to print his name simply because his age can't be verified. Mr. Zoabi is older than most recordskeeping systems will go. But here's the interesting thing! However old he really is, Mussa Zoabi knows exactly how he managed to live so long. He'll tell the ...

1214. Choosing a Master

Sermon

Charles L. Aaron

It was supposed to have been fun. No one was supposed to have gotten hurt. Little children haven't become greedy yet have they? A minor league baseball team in Michigan held a promotion after a game, dropping $1,000 in cash from a helicopter over the outfield. Then they let the children run after it. The air should have been filled with giggles as the children plucked dollar bills from the air and...

1215. Lent: Giving Up

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

Self Denial is about making a sacrifice that makes a difference, focusing on the Cross and reminding ourselves what Christ gave up for us. Rev. Craig Gates of Jackson Mississippi has a great list of suggestions. He says we should: GIVE UP grumbling! Instead, "In everything give thanks." Constructive criticism is OK, but "moaning, groaning, and complaining" are not Christian disciplines. GIVE UP ...

1216. Something That Will Last Forever

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

One day a father was leaving his house on the way to the shopping center. His three-year-old daughter said, "Daddy, bring me something." He asked, "Honey, what do you want?" She thought for a moment and then said, "Bring me something that will last forever." Even at the tender age of three, she knew that many things are nice for a little while, but their appeal doesn't last. She wanted something w...

1217. Stewards of Life, Death, and Beyond

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

Buddy Hackett told a story on the Johnny Carson Show which was about "bad news and very bad news." A medical doctor called his patient and said, "I have bad news and very bad news. The bad news is that you are terminally ill and will die in 24 hours." The patient couldn’t imagine anything worse than that and so asked to be told the very bad news. The doctor replied, "The very bad news is that I sh...

1218. Everything Must Go: The Treasure Principle

Sermon

James Merritt

It was something that I had been putting off for a good while, for a number of reasons, the least of which I just didn’t want to deal with it. Last year, Teresa and I finally took the plunge and we did it. I thought it would be morbid – it wasn’t. I thought it would be kind of miserable – it wasn’t. I realized after it was over it really was a ministry. It took a few weeks for the results of our e...

1219. Reaching Up—Reaching Out

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

An elderly man was critically ill when he asked to see his doctor, his minister, and his closest business associate. As the three of them gathered around the man's bed, he said to them, "I know they say you can't take it with you, but who knows for sure? So, I'm giving each of you an envelope with a $100,000 in cash, in case I need a little spending money on the other side." A few days later the o...

1220. Sermon on the Mount: Allegiance and Trust

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Jesus calls his disciples to undivided and primary allegiance to God and the kingdom, which will lead to trust in God for their needs. Understanding the Text This section of the Sermon on the Mount focuses on human allegiances and trusting God for daily needs. The Lord’s Prayer in the previous section has already highlighted these themes: allegiance to God and God’s kingdom (6:9–10) an...

1221. Treasures In Heaven

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

6:19–21 The natural human tendency is to store up material possessions here on earth. Jesus advises laying up treasures in heaven, where the uncertainties of life cannot affect them. Where people put their treasure reveals where their hearts really are. Unless “moth and eating” (the NIV follows Tyndale’s translation of brōsis as rust, which lacks support from the LXX) is a grammatical expression m...

1222. Treasures in Heaven

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The remainder of the body of the Sermon on the Mount covers various topics but fleshes out to some extent the ideas introduced in the Lord’s Prayer: a call to singular loyalty to God (6:19–24) and trust for daily needs (6:27–34), a warning against judging others (7:1–6), and a call to prayer (7:7–11). Jesus calls his followers to loyalty to God in contrast to storing up possessions (6:19–21) and ...

1223. Your Money and Your Life

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

In his classic treatise on politics, The Republic, Plato observed that the greatest enemy of justice is the family. Yes, the family! I daresay his claim will strike you as being rather silly. After all, most everyone agrees the family is a good and necessary institution. Sociologists continue to say the family is the vital unit or cell of society. We are all disturbed by the disintegration of the ...

1224. God's providence and priorities

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Notes This passage probably was not originally a part of the Sermon on the Mount, since Luke locates it elsewhere. The exhortation against anxiety here has two bases, the first of which is the more developed: (1) God's providence and (2) God's priorities, namely, God's Reign and righteousness. The assurance throughout is that because of these things, everything else will "fall into place." ...

1225. Fatherhood

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: People get their idea of God from their relationship with their fathers. Summary: Shirley has a mean father and when a friend tries to interest her in Christianity by telling her God is a loving father, she is not interested. Playing Time: 3 minutes Setting: Shirley's home Props: A box of candy Costumes: Contemporary, casual Time: The present Cast SHIRLEY -- a teenager FATHER -- her ...

Showing 1201 to 1225 of 4508 results