Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 1301 to 1325 of 2273 results

1301. The Foolish Farmer

Luke 12:13-21

Sermon

Note, first, that God did not say this man was evil. God said he was a fool. Note, secondly, that most of us would not say he was a fool. We’d say he was an obviously successful businessman. We esteem abundance. Jesus said, "A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." We act as though a man’s life does consist in the abundance of his possessions. We have a saying, "If you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich?" As if that were the test of a person’s life. Why would God call him a fool? ...

1302. Growing in God's Freedom

John 8:31-41

Sermon

"So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." Brothers and Sisters in Christ, after worship, a little boy told the pastor: "When I grow up, I'm going to give you some money." "Well, thank you," the pastor replied, "but why?" "Because my daddy says you're one of the poorest preachers we've ever had."1 With the risk of this story in mind, I am pleased, nevertheless, to bring you the fifth sermon in a series of six, dealing with the spiritual needs of Americans as discovered by George Gallup, Jr. ...

1303. The Master Has Come - And Is Moved With Compassion

Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45

Sermon

There lived in India a well-known poet named Tagore. One morning his servant was late coming to work. Tagore became more angry by the minute as he waited for him to arrive. Finally, the servant came in and began his duties. Tagore had already decided to fire him. He said, "Stop what you are doing and get out. You are fired." The man kept sweeping and said, "My little girl died last night." This incident points up one of the great needs in the world today - the need for compassion. Compassion has been ...

1304. The Rite of Remembrance

Luke 22:7-38

Sermon

Edward Chinn

[Jesus] took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." "We are what we remember," wrote Dr. Ernest T. Campbell, the late pastor of the Riverside Church in New York City. The word remember came from two Latin words: "re" (back, again) and "memor" (mindful). To remember is to call an event, person, or thing back to mind again. It is to reassemble the members of a past event. The act of remembering ...

1305. Proper 13 & Pentecost 11

Matthew 14:13-21, Nehemiah 9:1-37, Exodus 12:1-30, Romans 8:28-39, Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE With one more Sunday remaining in August, the preacher may find more of a practical preaching clue in the approach of the fall season than a theological theme in the church year. For now, the latter part of August emphasizes a kind of homiletical eschatology; in many congregations, one has been preaching primarily to the faithful few during the summer months, and soon summer will be over. Attendance will increase in the next few weeks and one's preaching may have to be somewhat different ...

1306. Sticks and Stones

1 Samuel 17:1-58

Sermon

Goliath slew David. The boy’s bubble of life burst. For twelve years he had lived in a bubble built by doctors to prevent disease from assaulting his body, which lacked immunity to any disease. Recently David died in a Houston hospital room. Hospital staff had come to love him. Doctors meeting the press wept openly. A retired gift shop lady said to a reporter that David had come to be thought of as their own boy by the entire city of Houston. Houston mourns his passing. It always seems to those who scan ...

1307. The Girl Who Was Too Smart to Learn

Luke 2:25

Children's Sermon

Object: None Once upon a time, there was a young girl who was very, very smart. Even when she was a baby, people knew she was unusually bright, since she was walking and talking much sooner than other babies. Everyone could see that this girl was special. When she was only three, her mother began teaching her to read, and the little girl learned quickly. She read the easy books, like Doctor Seuss, and soon she was ready for something more difficult. But when her mother brought her some harder books to try ...

1308. Pentecost

John 20:19-23

Sermon Aid

Liturgical Color: Red Gospel: John 20:19-23 Theme: Receiving the Holy Spirit - the birthday of the New Testament church. Pastoral Invitation Consider this: On the previous two Sundays, ask people to bring their symbols which depict for them the Holy Spirit. In addition, this might be a good time to change the headings within the order of worship. Begin with: The Community Celebrates Pentecost, The Coming of the Holy Spirit of God into the Lives of Christ's People in order to Transform Them from Cowards to ...

1309. Proper 17

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon Aid

Pastoral Invitation to the Celebration Try this: "Some of you who came today may wish that you hadn't; Some who didn't come today may be glad they didn't. Today, we deal with one of Jesus' difficult sayings. We can know that God promises Holy Spirit, no matter what's happening in our lives." You may want to include this litany: Pastor: From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the Lord's name is to be praised and praised. Ministers: Blessed be the name of the Lord, from this time forth and ...

1310. Poured Out for Many

Exodus 24:1-18, Mark 14:12-26

Sermon

And Moses took the blood and threw it upon the people, and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you in accordance with these words." (Exodus 24:8) The symbol of blood is both an attraction and a revulsion to Christian piety. For some, it is a rich expression of religious feeling. The hymnwriter says: "There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins; And sinners plunged beneath that flood Lose all their guilty stains." (W. Cowper, 1779) However, others feel ...

1311. All The More Reason To Give Thanks

Psalm 100:1-5

Sermon

Brett Blair

It is interesting to note that it wasn’t until we were at war, the Civil War to be exact, that our Thanksgiving holiday was officially recognized by Congress. It had started in the small Plymouth Colony in 1621 when the English Pilgrims feasted with members of the Wampanoag (Wam·pa·no·ag) Indians who brought gifts of food as a gesture of goodwill. The custom grew in various colonies as a means of celebrating the harvest. In 1777, over 100 years later, the continental congress proclaimed a national day of ...

1312. All the More Reason

Psalm 100:1-5

Illustration

Brett Blair

It is interesting to note that it wasn't until we were at war, the Civil War to be exact, that our Thanksgiving holiday was officially recognized by Congress. It had started in the small Plymouth Colony in 1621 when the English Pilgrims feasted with members of the Wampanoag (Wam·pa·no·ag) Indians who brought gifts of food as a gesture of goodwill. The custom grew in various colonies as a means of celebrating the harvest. In 1777, over 100 years later, the continental congress proclaimed a national day of ...

1313. Faith, Love, and Fakers at Ephesus

Acts 18:18-28

Sermon Aid

CSS

Although the early Christians were united in mind and spirit, there are evidences of factionalism and division among them. The chief conflict was between Jew and Gentile. Although the decision reached by the first council at Jerusalem had presumably healed the breach with a compromise acceptable to all, "a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." In Jerusalem, the Hebrew faction continued its efforts to discredit the Gentiles, claiming that they were second-class Christians unless they ...

1314. Paul in Chains

Acts 21:27-36

Sermon Aid

CSS

Paul’s arrival in Jerusalem was inauspicious. Although "the brethren received us gladly," the elders were fidgety and fearful. Not one word of gratitude is recorded for the gifts which Paul and his companions brought with them to alleviate the poverty of the church at Jerusalem. One wonders why? Perhaps those who came with Paul to bring the gifts were too evidently "Gentile Christians." These Gentiles must have felt rebuffed, finding prejudice against them where they might have anticipated brotherly ...

1315. Let Yes Be Yes!

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

A popular folk song among Christian youth in the 60s went like this: And God said Yes! Yes! Yes! Said Yes to the world once more! Said Yes with a cosmic roar! Said, Open that Other Door! Said Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! In one word, that’s God’s message for this planet. It’s the gospel. It’s the hope we need, the doorway to the future. Each of us has asked ourselves and one another and the silent stars at night: "Must there not be a better world than this? Must our lives not have been meant to be put right, ...

1316. What Do You See?

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently, He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man. And His form more than the sons of men; So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider. Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender ...

1317. No Longer Spectators - But Participants!

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know--Him being delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. ...

1318. Are There Two Baptisms?

Acts 2:14-41

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Misinformation is often passed around as Gospel truth. It is like the two little boys who were talking between themselves. One of them couldn’t understand why they had holes in their tummies - where did their belly-buttons come from? But his little five-year-old friend had a ready answer. "Oh, that’s easy," he said. "You see, God makes ...

1319. Which Jesus? This Jesus!

Acts 17:1-9

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

"... This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ." A conductor said to the Lt. Governor of the State of Pennsylvania, as he was boarding a train, "Go right up the steps, sir, turn left, and take a seat." But the Lt. Governor turned right instead of left and found himself in an empty car. He had just settled himself down when some twenty people, all dressed exactly alike, came in the car. The conductor said, "Sir, I think you’ll want to move into the other car. You see, these people are all from the ...

1320. We Know Exactly How You Feel, Jesus

Matthew 8:3, Luke 7:14, Luke 8:44

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

Oh, Christmas has come and gone, but its scent lingers: spiced cider, evergreen, bayberry candles, cookies baking, popcorn, ham and scalloped potatoes, chestnuts roasting, and hot chocolate. Christmas has come, and its scent lingers: the aroma of newspaper casually read by a crackling fire or the smell of a new book received as a gift; pungent chemicals of instant pictures developing, or tempera paint on a homemade gift; play- dough, silly putty, gift perfume or cologne, shoe polish applied generously for ...

1321. Bad Good News Won’t Sell!

Jeremiah 28:1-17

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord; and the prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words which you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. Yet hear now this word which I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ...

1322. A King Worth Having

Zechariah 9:9-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your ...

1323. No Sooner Said Than Done!

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

"For the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return not thither but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it." Words! Words! Words! Today we are bombarded on every side and saturated throughout with words coming to us through press, radio, and TV. There are 490,000 ...

1324. Is God Still God?

Isaiah 44:6-23

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: "I am the first and the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me? Let him proclaim it, let him declare and set it forth before me. Who has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to be. Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any." In the good times of life, it is easy to believe ...

1325. Looking For God?

Isaiah 55:1-13

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

"Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near." By videotape, a Bishop heard and saw a stranger deliver a sermon. When the sermon was over, the Bishop remarked, "There is a man who knows the Lord." When the preacher was told what the Bishop said, he remarked, "That is the finest compliment I have ever received." Could the same be said of you? Would you like to have it said of you? It cannot be said unless you know God. To know God is to find him and to find him is to seek him. Thus, ...

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