Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1226 to 1250 of 1679 results

1226. Doing The Right Thing

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

A well-known businessman in this community was recently asked to do something for the United Methodist Church, something inconvenient and expensive. It would require him to make available for a period of several months some facilities which he used in his business. Frankly, when it was decided to ask this man's help no one was very optimistic about a favorable response. For one thing, the man is a leading Catholic layman. He would have nothing at all to gain by agreeing to the request. At the very least, ...

1227. When Saints Go Marching Forth

1 Samuel 15:1-35

Sermon

Arthur H. Kolsti

Sometimes when reading you come across words that just leap off the page and grab you. Here is a comment by C.S. Lewis I encountered in his book, Reflections On The Psalms. If the Divine call does not make us better, it will make us much worse. Of all bad people, religious bad people are the worst. Of all created beings the wickedest are those who originally stood in the presence of God. Let these words hover over our thoughts this morning. They are not comfortable words, for they remind us of some dark ...

1228. By What Authority?

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

John A. Stroman

Two remarkable things happened. Jesus' words in the synagogue left the people amazed. His confronting of the man with the unclean spirit left them dumbfounded. Jesus' world was a demon-haunted world. Men and women in the ancient world believed in demons. Demons for them were intensely real. The first century world was one of pain and suffering. There was no relief from pain. It was a world of natural disasters that took a heavy toll on life. Disease, even the slightest illness, could be fatal. There was a ...

1229. Joseph's Pit

Genesis 37:1-11

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

August 29, 1982 Comment: I have no better excuse for including this story sermon than that I like it. It uses a third person, by means of his journal, to tell the story of Joseph meeting his brothers in Egypt years after they had sold him into slavery. Since the narrative has similarities to the previous story of Jacob, a creative pastor might want to use the radio drama format. Churches with closed circuit television might want to experiment with further dramatization, costumes, and sets. One of the great ...

1230. How Does Religious Conduct Work?

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

Donald Macleod

Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they besought him to lay his hand upon him. And taking him aside from the multitude privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." And his ears were opened, his tongue was ...

1231. What Ever Happened to Wisdom?

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Does gray hair bring wisdom or slower reflexes or both? This is the issue over which airline pilots and the Federal Aviation Administration have been arguing for years. The rule has been that pilots cannot fly jetliners after they turn sixty years old. Pilots claim that eligibility after sixty should be determined on a case by case basis. They cite the time when Captain David Cronin, age fifty-nine, brought a jumbo jet back to a safe landing in Hawaii after a huge hole had opened in its fuselage. He ...

1232. The Healing Of Simon Peter's Mother-In-Law

Mark 1:29-34

Drama

Dallas A. Brauninger

WHAT'S HAPPENING The Gospel called Mark wants to set a tone of direct action and quick response in this story. Mark shows an absence of dragging feet and suggests a sense of urgency. Jesus gets things done. From Mark's perspective, whatever happens around Jesus, the response is always immediate. "Immediately" is a favorite action word in the first chapter of Mark. After the baptism of Jesus, the Spirit immediately drives him out into the wilderness (Mark 1:12). When Jesus calls Simon and Andrew to be ...

1233. Ash Wednesday

Joel 2:1-2, 12-17, Matthew 6:1-4, Matthew 6:16-18, 2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Bulletin Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: A call to repentance and renewal. The people are called to return to the Lord with acts of worship, giving and devotion that spring from the heart. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 We know little about the writer of this book and there are no historical markers by which to judge the period in which it was composed. Many scholars believe that Joel lived in the Persian period (559-331 B.C.). We do know that he had a keen interest in the temple and can surmise that he hails from priestly ...

1234. Proper 22

Hebrews 1:1-14, Hebrews 2:5-18, Job 2:1-10, Mark 10:13-16, Mark 10:1-12

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Remaining true to our covenants of faith. In the First Lesson, Job remained true to God in his trials. In the Second Lesson, the writer of Hebrews calls the Jewish Christians to keep from falling away from Christ. In the Gospel, Christ calls us to keep our marriage covenant. COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Job 1:1; 2:1-10 (C) This lection comprises the first of four readings from the book of Job, one of the books of biblical wisdom literature. This reading is part of the introduction (1:1--2:13), which sets ...

1235. Proper 24

Job 38:1–41:34, Isaiah 52:13--53:12, Mark 10:35-45, Hebrews 5:1-10

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Our human pride gets in the way of our worshiping and serving the Lord. COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Job 38:1-7 (34-41) (C) The arguments of Job's four friends come to a conclusion and God himself answers from a whirlwind, a frequent setting for theophanies. God chides Job for his lack of wisdom and addresses him with a series of rhetorical questions. The entire chapter presents an argument from creation. Job was not present at the creation of the world; how can he dare to question the sovereign God? Lesson ...

1236. Is It Better To Catch Or Be Caught?

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Richard A. Wing

As a boy I was never good at catching things, except a cold now and then. I tried to catch a pony to ride and failed. The butterfly trip was a disaster. I tried catching frogs but didn't try too hard because I didn't know what I would do with them once I caught them. Fish weren't my favorite for eating, so catching them was no treat, because I knew it implied that I would eat them with delight rather than gagging on them, which I always did. I never was good at catching things. A major church denomination ...

1237. A New Command

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Lee Griess

In his book Life Looks Up, Charles Templeton remarks how ironic it is that the course of human history has been affected so positively and negatively by events that have occurred in two small upper rooms. One of them is a drab flat in London's Westside, dirty, curtainless, with stacks of articles on the table and worn manuscripts, aborted attempts wadded up in the trash can. Seated at the table a man labors over a writing, a writing that would overthrow governments, enslave millions of people, and ...

1238. The Condition Of Mercy

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

Donald Dotterer

Let us pray: Our Father and our God, on this day we give you thanks for all the blessings of our lives. In these moments, may we learn something about what it is for which we need to be most thankful. Lord, in these moments may we experience your mercy and your grace. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. A social psychologist by the name of David Myers has written a book titled The Pursuit of Happiness. The book has 59 pages of references and a 43-page bibliography. This large number of citations clearly ...

1239. Are You A Basket Case?

Deuteronomy 26:1-15

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

We have a large, cylindrical basket by our fireplace which holds firewood. And we have another wonderful basket, perhaps a half-bushel in size, which was given to us by friends. It is hand-woven and crafted by a 92-year-old man who cut the tree, shaved off the strips, soaked them, and then created this lovely container; solid and stable, a treasure. I have a bread-basket; dainty, finely woven, and perfect - fashioned by a cultured, saintly woman in a church I served as pastor. Another everyday basket that ...

1240. The S & L That Didn't Fail!

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

A Peanuts cartoon strip shows Charlie Brown and Linus as they summarize their team's baseball season. They report that in 12 games they almost scored a run. In right field Lucy almost caught three balls, and once she almost made the right play. They decided between them that they led the league in "almosts." We Christians do not have an "almost" Savior. We have a Lord who saves to the uttermost. He did not and he cannot fail. At this writing, according to the experts, losses from savings and loans (S & Ls ...

1241. The Love Of Evil

Psalm 52:1-9

Sermon

Erskine White

You love evil more than good. (Psalm 52:3) Centuries ago, the great philosopher, Socrates, asked a question which troubles the sensitive conscience: "How can people know what is good but do what is bad?" The question has been pondered through the ages and we should be asking it tonight as we begin the forty day period of Lent. For some people, the answer to evil lies in education. They figure that people do bad things because of ignorance and so they put their hope in "getting the facts." They argue that ...

1242. Giving Your All

Mark 12:35-40

Sermon

Erskine White

But she, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had, her whole living. (Mark 12:44) Jesus could really be rough on certain people, especially those whom He perceived to be falsely religious and self-righteous. Judging by some of the severe language we read in the gospels, you didn't want to be on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing administered by one Jesus of Nazareth. When our Lord spoke to the scribes and Pharisees and to the other religious celebrities of His time, He used words like " ...

1243. God's Gift Of Life

Psalm 139:1-24

Sermon

Erskine White

For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb. (Psalm 139:13) Fathers in earlier generations usually weren't allowed to do this, but I have had the splendid privilege of watching and helping as two of my children were born. The first time, the experience was new and overwhelming. I felt I had witnessed God's hands at work in the world and when our baby was safely delivered, I was left groping for inadequate words to describe what I had seen. The word "awesome" came to ...

1244. Proper 7

1 Kings 19:9-18, Psalm 63:1-11, Zechariah 12:1-9, Luke 8:26-39, Galatians 3:23-29

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The preacher, who hopes to make the most of the lectionary and the church year during the long season of Pentecost, has to be cognizant of the kerygmatic accent marks that are built into the church year. Sunday is always the "little Easter," a celebration - if muted, at that - of the death and resurrection of our Lord; it is also the Ogdoad, the eighth day, or the day of new creation. Thus, the church is reminded that it and the people of God have been made new by Jesus Christ, and that a ...

1245. Proper 19

Luke 15:8-10, Luke 15:1-7, Psalm 51:1-19, Exodus 32:1-33:6, Hosea 4:1-19, Hosea 6:1--7:16, 1 Timothy 1:12-20

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Depending on the lectionary cycle followed and the calendar year the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost may be known and celebrated, in much of the Christian church as World-wide Communion Sunday. Most of the denominations of Christendom will be participating in the sacrament of holy communion on that Sunday, regardless of the other occasions on which the sacrament is observed. Actually, every Sunday is a worldwide communion Sunday; every Sunday calls for the celebration of the meal at ...

1246. An Invitation to Rest

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon Aid

Wayne B. Keller

Liturgical Color: Green Theme: Jesus' invitation to the disciples to leave the crowd and to rest; peoples' unwillingness to leave them alone; Jesus' compassion toward them. Pastoral Invitation Suggestion: Begin, what do you expect to happen today? God promises that if we expect little, we will receive little; if we expect much, we will receive much. The decision is in the eye of the beholder. Continue with this litany: Pastor: The call of Christ is not an easy one. People: It is an invitation to self- ...

1247. Rocky

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

William J. Carl

It is said that Winston Churchill never liked talking to subordinates. He always wanted to go to the top because he figured that was the only way he could get any action. So, as the story goes, when Churchill went to heaven, he met St. Peter at the gate and said, “Who are you?” When Peter said, “I’m St. Peter,” Churchill said, “To hell with you, get God!” How did poor Peter get this job in the first place? It all started with the story recounted in this text when Jesus renamed him “Rocky” and gave him the ...

1248. What's In The Final Exam?

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

George Johnson

When I was serving as Director of the Hunger Program for the former American Lutheran Church, I preached at various congregations on Sunday mornings. They would often ask me, "Should we read the Matthew 25 passage for the scripture lesson?" This text is a favorite for any gathering around hunger and poverty issues. I've used it often when I speak about hunger. But the text has a far greater scope and purpose than to muster up a concern for hungry people. The story was not told by Jesus as a fund-raising ...

1249. How Does One Prepare For The Unknown?

Matthew 25:1-13

Sermon

George Johnson

What is one of the most foolish things you have ever done? Pay good money for a suit or dress that you never wore? Buy a car that turned out to be a lemon? Invest your savings based on good advice, but end up losing it all? Have an affair that you thought would be brief and secret, but turned out to bring havoc on everything? But who likes to be reminded of one's foolishness? What is one of the wisest things you have ever done? Saying "yes" to the one you married, or "no" to the one you almost married? Was ...

1250. Refuse To Be A Victim

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

James Garrett

When a person enters into any society or any fellowship, he takes upon himself the obligations to live a certain way, by certain standards. If the person fails to live the kind of life necessary, he hinders the purpose of the society. Once we make the claim that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true then a claim is put on our lives. In today’s Scripture lesson, Jesus sets down behavior patterns for kingdom people. No one needs to go to a Bible commentary to understand this text. It is a Word that challenges ...

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