Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1276 to 1300 of 3160 results

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Thomas Long

... company’s stock. Wall Street does not know this yet, but he does. In his Saturday golf match, one of his partners casually mentions that he is about to start a college investment program for his two small children. He asks the others what sort of investment that would suggest - savings bonds? real estate? stocks? At that moment the executive feels the weight of future knowledge. Should he tell this man about the upcoming merger? His friend is no market sharpie seeking insider information; he is a father ...

1277. All-Out Love

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

James W. Robinson

... advice and counsel at his bedside. They spoke of him with admiration, awe, and respect. Regardless of political persuasion, so may we. Isn’t that informative as to loving God with all the mind? Study the world. Try to understand what’s going on. Sift. Sort. Analyze. Evaluate. What "parties" oppose God’s party? How are they trying to weaken and wrest control from his Kingdom? What plan of action should the Christian and the church follow to win followers of the wrong ways to the Way, God’s way. What ...

1278. How Can We Foretell the Future?

1 Kings 2:1-12

Sermon

Edward Chinn

... Paul mentioned when he wrote of those who "have offered reverence and worship to created things instead of to the Creator" (Romans 1:25, NEB). Nevertheless, human beings have always been so curious about the future that they have resorted to all sorts of methods to find out about that future. Among those methods are: consulting oracles, inspecting cards, studying the palm of the hand, examining the bumps on the head, watching the movement of the stars, plotting horoscopes, looking for messages from the ...

1279. Waiting

Isaiah 63:7--64:12

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

... to give than our waiting selves to those who need us. But there is life in the gift.* * Eugene Kennedy, A Time for Being Human, (New York, Simon and Shuster, 1977), p. 193. I add my testimony to his. This is where it’s at. Life comes in all sorts of waitings. There will be a fresh, attractive porch on which you and I can visit. Life will graciously rock away. There will be a well child for our waiting, one to enjoy in good health, confident we have done the right thing. And, what more for life than that ...

1280. Christmas Gift

Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

... , vision-laden garment. It was a mantle of praise, garlands for the neck - a royal garment of salvation. Just as I received clothes to wear, so did Israel. Then the real nature of the garment of salvation began to surface. Here was a different sort of covering, preparing them for the days ahead. Isaiah called it "robes of righteousness." What made up a robe of righteousness? A list of wonderful verbs. As these verbs became of daily use, the practical nature of the gift appeared. Verbs are "do" words ...

1281. The Remnant Year

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

... strikes her fancy. "This is just about enough to make me a blouse," (She is so small she wears a Junior Petite). "This could make a skirt, or a pillow, or ..." So she buys it and adds it to the remnants already at home. From time to time she sorts through her treasures and comes up with one: "Look, this will do nicely." Then she goes to work, carefully squeezing the pattern to make a blouse or skirt. At last she comes to me, "Here, how do you like this?" She has claimed for herself a remnant that otherwise ...

1282. You Don’t Really Feel That Way

Job 6:1-7:21

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

... know something must be resolved before we can. In a way, life seems to have brought us to this pass, and to move on into more life we have to go through the narrow pass, even as Jesus talked of the needle’s eye. We are positive, in a dogged sort of way, that on the other side of our despair we will be capable of growth. Because we know this deep in our souls, we have the courage to be there with the anguish and pain. Because we can grapple with the situation, we know we can come through to ...

1283. Christmas, Proper 3

John 1:1-18, Hebrews 1:1-14, Isaiah 51:17--52:12

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... in ages to come: God has returned to rule in mercy and might, bringing peace, goodness, comfort and salvation. Call to Worship Leader: How welcome is the person who brings us good news, especially the kind that both comforts us and gladdens our hearts! People: THAT IS JUST THE SORT OF NEWS WE HEAR THIS DAY, A HAPPY MESSAGE OF PEACE AND JOY AND SALVATION. Leader: For God has come in mercy to redeem and in might to rule. People: LET US AND ALL NATIONS TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH SING TOGETHER FOR JOY, FOR IN THE ...

1284. The Baptism of Our Lord

Genesis 1:1-2:3, Acts 19:1-22, Mark 1:1-8, Mark 1:9-13

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

First Lesson: Genesis 1:1-5 Theme: Waters of darkness, waters of light Exegetical note This creation story presupposes some sort of dark, primordial, watery chaos ("the deep") upon which God’s moving spirit and creating word brings light - imagery with powerful implications for a Christian sacramental theology of baptism. Call to Worship Leader: As in the beginning the Creator God stirred the waters of darkness with Spirit, People: MAY THE ...

1285. Easter 2

Acts 4:32-37, 1 John 1:5--2:14, John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... that we share, and be able to live in selflessness and total charity toward one another. In. Jesus’ name we pray. Amen Prayer of Confession Forgiving God, we admit to you and one another our tendency to be selfish and self-serving, and to let all sorts of worldly concerns and earthly things divide us from one another. Forgive us, we pray. Place your resurrection Spirit so deep within our hearts that we shall truly feel at one with the resurrected Christ and united with each other as members of his body ...

1286. Easter 5

Acts 8:26-40, 1 John 4:7-21, John 15:1-17

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... those most like us than of obeying Christ’s great commission to spread the Gospel throughout the world. Forgive us our timidity and our prejudices. Lead us by your Spirit to take the good news in Christ to people in every possible direction and of every conceivable sort; that the world may come to know the joy we have in you. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen Second Lesson: 1 John 4:7-12 Theme: The invisible God made visible in love Exegetical note This exhortation to love grounds human love in God’s ...

1287. Easter 6

Acts 10:23b-48, 1 John 5:1-12, John 15:1-17

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... God, who care for us as a parent and overcome all obstacles that would keep us from loving in return, deepen our affections for you; that we may feel in the very depths of our souls the kind of faith that is victorious over the world, and the sort of love that obeys your will spontaneously and sincerely. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen Prayer of Confession Gracious God, we confess that we do not always live in the victory that faith in Christ gives us, but often fall in defeat before the world and succumb to ...

1288. Proper 5

1 Samuel 16:14-23, Mark 3:20-30, Mark 3:31-35, 2 Corinthians 4:1-18, 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... ’s apparent "mental illness" comes from God. Such a notion is difficult on several counts for the modern reader, but is grounded in the Old Testament’s firm monotheism, which would prefer to attribute evil to God’s doing rather than to posit any sort of competing counter-deity (such as the Satan-Devil of the New Testament). Call to Worship Leader: Brothers and sisters, we gather today to worship the one God. People: WE MEET AS A PEOPLE FILLED WITH FAITH, BUT ALSO FULL OF UNANSWERED QUESTIONS. Leader ...

1289. Thanksgiving Day

Joel 2:18-27, Matthew 6:25-34, 1 Timothy 2:1-15

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... let our thanksgiving be overflowing and acceptable in your sight. In the name of Christ Jesus we pray. Amen Second Lesson: 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Theme: Thanksgiving for the highly placed Exegetical Note Paul’s exhortation here for prayers of all sorts, including thanksgivings, sounds both general ("for all") and specific ("for kings"), but he appears to be thinking particularly about those in political authority. It should be noted that he does not distinguish between rulers who are Christian and those who are ...

1290. Bell-Bottoms that Scared the Devil

Luke 6:37-38

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... in the land where Jesus lived, were afraid of evil spirits. In fact the people were so afraid that they tried to trick the evil spirits into thinking they had moved. Evil spirits made you do evil things, like fight, tell lies, cheat, steal and all sorts of things. The people also believed that the evil spirits made them sick, unhappy, and very poor. Now the evil spirits were everywhere, but the one place that the people wanted to make sure that the evil spirits didn’t stay in was the beautiful temple ...

1291. The Gift

Drama

Esther Lense

... of Peace had spread his Word over all the earth, then true peace would again reign in the world, just as in the Garden of Eden. In that time, wolves and lambs shall live together, leopards and kids will play together, calves and lions and all sorts of animals will live together in harmony. And more than that, even the deadliest snakes will be made harmless, so that little children may play with them without fear. (As he speaks, he points to the stuffed animals.) And that is the third gift of Christmas ...

1292. LORD, I BELIEVE

John 9:35-41

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... ? What the final outcome of everything will be, we don’t know - that’s God’s business! But we know what our task is NOW - and that’s OUR business! Christ taught us to pray, "Thy will be done," but a cloud of misconception surrounds that prayer. All sorts of lies have been told about it, and all kinds of evil has been tolerated under it. Far too many people, when they pray "Thy will be done," think of lonely grief, or wasting sickness, or premature death. Christ would have us think of the will of God ...

1293. The Crisis of Commitment

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... difficulty is, you always get involved; and we’re just too busy. We can’t afford to be involved." Or, as one sophisticated female member of this congregation said bluntly to me: "You know, church activity is nice for people as a hobby or any of that sort of thing." Oh, they’re around when the grace of God is being passed out. Any other time, they stand at a distance. Think, beloved, we who are blessed with God’s greatest blessing, who is in that distant crowd? They shouted, "He saved others." And ...

1294.

Drama

David E. Ullery

... it is quiet now. Pilate: (Going to table beneath window, taking grapes) Tell her, Sergius; she might as well know. Sergius: Yes, sir. (Turning to Claudia) It seems that there is some difficulty with one of the Jewish religious fanatics. The Sanhedrin is out of sorts about it, and we’ll have trouble before it’s over. Claudia: (To Pilate) What kind of trouble? Pilate: Who knows? Who ever knows what these rabble-rousers want? Trying to please them only serves to make more trouble. It is impossible to rule ...

1295. The Generation Gap

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

William McKee Aber

... every generation - but with a much deeper intensity in our age. They are revolting (Robert McAfee Brown says that you take that word as a verb or an adjetive; he opts for the verb and so do I) on campuses, in politics, in civil rights, and against all sorts of things that we’ve simply accepted as "the way it is," like war and poverty. Now, it’s easy to get "turned off" by revolting youth. Easy for a number of reasons. We, who are adults, are a part of the establishment and any attack against authority ...

1296. Who Needs a Shepherd These Days?

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Charles L. Koester

... at the whole idea of God as a relic of their childhood. Someone they had outgrown. The Church wasn’t holy anymore, nor was it Christ’s. The Church was simply termed "institutional." The voices of the 60s were ripe for these sorts of things. Why not? John Kennedy was elected President. The slogan of the Administration was the promise of "vigor" and the romance of "The New Frontier." Man stepped out confidently knowing exactly where he was going. Through human brainpower, compassion, and technology ...

1297. What’s Going On in Your Orchard?

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Charles L. Koester

... the tragedy, I was in a drugstore when this young lady’s father entered. I did not know him, but was told by the druggist, "That’s the girl’s father." I immediately assumed he was in the store having a prescription filled for a sedative of some sort. I could well imagine the effects of this sudden and shocking tragedy on the family. The next day I found out how wrong had been my assumption. Do you know what that father was doing in the drugstore the morning after his daughter’s tragic death? He was ...

1298. The Forgotten

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Theodore L. Yewey

... . One cannot help believing that Jesus had a deep and abiding respect for Joseph, his earthly father. If he had not, how could he have used the father image so freely in reference to God the Heavenly Father? All of these thoughts passed through my mind as we sorted out the broken pieces of the figure of Joseph from the rest of our Nativity set. And it was brought home to me that there was indeed a very human man named Joseph and that man shared significantly in the birth and early years of the Savior of ...

1299. Encountering The Family Man

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... between the way it was and the way it might be. He certainly was a worldly man - and yet his words talked of something else. He moved through the crowds as he spoke, and I moved with him much of the day. Listening. His dress was of the up-country, sort of crude. Just the cloak and gown woven from the coarse wool of that area. It was shelter from the sun and heat and dust. His hair was dark; his face, too. His frame was big, with hands large and rough. He was a working man, no doubt about it ...

1300. Recognizing The Hidden

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... know what it was, except that it shone brightly, and was the prettiest thing he had seen in his marred world. "What is it?" he pondered. The pastor explained that it was a symbol for a person who lived many years ago, a person who faced war (of sorts) and who was killed in the squeeze of greed and power and fear, a person whose evil deed was that he preached kindness and love and consideration and friendliness and a Heavenly Father. And that ever since this man was killed people have realized that he was ...

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