Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1326 to 1350 of 4944 results

1326. Advent 1

Luke 21:5-38, Jeremiah 33:1-26, Zechariah 14:1-21, 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The powerful impetus toward eschatological awareness and preparedness, which comes from the theological framework of the Christian year, as well as the particular lections as-signed to this day, makes the preacher conscious of how the future affects the present age. The result is a "get your house, and the world, in order" kind of theology emanating from a reading of the propers for this day. Advent makes Christians realize that "the best is yet to come, "in the promised return of Jesus ...

1327. Easter Sunday

John 20:1-9, Acts 10:23b-48, Isaiah 51:1-16, Exodus 15:1-21, Colossians 3:1-17, 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Luke 24:1-12

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The Resurrection of Our Lord, Easter Day, exposes the heart of the gospel and the church year, too. It was the resurrection of Jesus Christ that made the difference in the disciples and the early Christians, changing them into bold witnesses for the crucified and risen Lord; all of the disciples, according to tradition, with the exception of St. John, died as martyrs - witnesses - for Jesus Christ. When Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, told them that "men (would) revile and persecute you ...

1328. Doing Our Homework

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

Whenever the “new” bumps up against the “old” there is bound to be friction. It happens within the community where we live. Someone -- an elected leader or would-be community change agent -- comes along with a new idea, seeing new possibilities for the future, and there is a vocal hesitation. “Why should we change?” the long-time residents complain. “Things are just fine the way they always have been!” The inevitable conflict grows between those who advocate change for a different way of living in the ...

1329. Making Christmas Last

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

Brett Blair

A cartoon in the New Yorker magazine said it all. In the middle of the floor is a dried up, withered, Christmas tree. The calendar on the wall reads December 26. Dad is sitting in his chair with an ice pack on his head. Mom is in a bathrobe and her hair in rollers. The floor is a virtual mountain of torn wrappings, boxes, and bows. Junior is reaching in his stocking to be sure that there is no more candy. In the background we see a table with a thoroughly picked turkey still sitting there. The caption on ...

1330. Why Should I Go On Living?

Matthew 12:38-45

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

The question came to me again this past week, as it does again and again with almost monotonous regularity: "Pastor, this friend of mine has decided to commit suicide. I think he’s really serious about it. What can I do about him?" The story, too, was typical. Here was a young man twenty-two years of age. He had been married and divorced while he was still in high school. He joined the Marines and was married the second time. He was sent to Vietnam where he became somewhat of a hero. He was credited as ...

1331. A WALL OF ROCK AND THE EVERYBODY GAP

Drama

William McKee Aber

A Dialogue - Drama for presentation in the church chancel This dialogue-drama was written by Dr. William Aber and the Rev. William Myers and was adapted from a presentation given at the First Congregational Church of Downers Grove, Illinois. It was first presented in this form at the Hiland Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the conclusion of a series of sermons on "The Gaps of our Age." The theme of this dialogue-drama is that people build walls between themselves in everyday life. They ...

1332. Dying to Become

2 Corinthians 5:17

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

GLENN E. WHITLOCK is a United Presyterian pastor who served as a parish minister and university chaplain before contracting polio and subsequently studying for a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. He is currently Professor of Psychology at the experimental Johnston College of the University of Redlands, Adjunct Professor at San Francisco Theological Seminary, a consultant for a community crisis hot line, and a counselor with a Christian counseling service. He has published three books, numerous journal articles ...

1333. Walk Wisely

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

King Duncan

It was a beautiful summer day and Clarence was enjoying a row in the boat with his lovely girlfriend, anticipating the picnic they would have when they got to the island in the center of the lake. These were days when young men and young ladies wore more than shorts and tshirts when out in public. Clarence had donned a spiffy suit with a high collar, and his female companion had on a long dress with billowing petticoats underneath. Clarence masculinely pulled on the wooden oars as his date sat cooly under ...

1334. Losers Keepers

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

The Texas millionaire stipulated in his will that he be buried in his favorite possession: his $90,000 Rolls-Royce. When the time came, two laborers were shoveling the last bit of dirt onto the now-buried luxury car. One finally turned to the other and said, “Boy! That’s living!” Not really. Not according to Jesus. Death comes to everyone, from the richest to the poorest, and the finest car in the world won’t make a difference on the other side of eternity. “For what shall it profit a man, to gain the ...

1335. Grace in the Midst of Unanswered Prayer

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

No one ever really prepares you for your first theological bull session. Usually it arrives without fanfare or advance warning. Usually it happens long before you enter the relative clear-headedness of your adult years, or before you take that philosophy course in college. Usually it happens when you're a junior high school student, up late with friends at a sleepover, or camping out in somebody's backyard. There's just something about a smoky fire and charred food and stars out overhead that turns twelve- ...

1336. The Future You Hope For

Jeremiah 29:1-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Inside all of us there is a subconscious mind. It's a storage box into which people and events are constantly putting ideas. I heard a cute story the other day about how we "program" the minds of our children. The pastor was at the front of the church giving a children's sermon. "Now, children," he said, "what has a bushy tail and likes to climb in trees, and hide nuts?" There was a total silence. The pastor tried again: "You know, children: He's sometimes gray with little ears, and he runs in trees, ...

1337. On The Road Again (emmaus)

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Willie Nelson sings it. I'm sure some others sing it, too, but not like Willie! Now I want you to know that I don't live in the world of country music -- nor do I live in the world of opera. What some people who live in the world of opera and look down their noses at country music don't know, or haven't admitted, is that the story-line of opera and country music is often the same. It's the story of love and loss, of pain and suffering, of shattered dreams and courageous perseverance. Consider this line ...

1338. The Problem with Promises

Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7

Sermon

James L. Killen

The problem with promises is that you have to trust them. You have to believe that they will be fulfilled, and live as if you believe that they will be fulfilled, before they can do you any good. We don't like to do that. We are cautious people. We want something to be thoroughly proven before we will believe that it is true. We want to investigate an enterprise thoroughly before we will invest in it. But that doesn't really work with believing in God. There is a limit to what we can know about God without ...

1339. Poison Control

Romans 7:7-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

It's every parent's nightmare. You walk into the room only to see your toddler happily playing with open bottles of pills. The contents of several bottles spilled across the floor. This was the sight we took in one suspiciously quiet morning when our daughter was about eighteen months old. Somehow she had created a climbing wall for herself that had enabled her to reach a high-shelf basket containing a cornucopia of "cure-it-yourself" vitamin pills. Also nestled somewhere in the bottom of the basket was ...

1340. Inward, Upward, Outward

Romans 9:30--10:21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Stuck in an endless traffic snarl the other day I punched on the radio just to hear another voice. The news channel was just finishing up a long in-depth report on the nasty mad-cow threat. Mad cow meat. Cancer causing farm fish. Avian flu chicken. What's left to eat any more? Pretty soon they'll find deadly bacteria on broccoli. The radio news channel, staying on the theme of American eating habits, moved on to a special segment on obese kids. Because of obesity, "This may be the first generation of ...

1341. The Oneness of Twoness

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Most commentaries break into two separate sections the epistle text for this second week of Advent. Traditionally 15:1-6 is recognized as a self-contained unit wherein Paul argues for tolerance between those who are “strong” and those who are “weak” in faith. Paul even appeals to the person of Christ as the ultimate example of one who did not “please himself” but “pleased” God by identifying with the weakness of all humanity, even to his death on the cross. The lectionary reading beginning at verse 4 ...

1342. The Lost and Found Celebration

Luke 15:15-24

Sermon

James W. Moore

There is a fascinating story that comes out of World War II. U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, Great Britain’s Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and Soviet Union Premier, Joseph Stalin, met together in The Teheran Conference to shape a common policy to work together to win the war. The discussion went well and the three great nations for the most part reached cordial agreement on their strategy to end the war and to create a lasting peace. However, there was one point that Roosevelt and Churchill could ...

1343. Mom: The Heart of a Godly Family

Proverbs 31:10-31

Sermon

James Merritt

Nobody can write a letter like a mother. I can remember when I was in college my first year, I was so homesick I literally lived for those days I would go to the post office and get a letter from my Mom. I want to share with you one mother's letter to her son in college. This mother was a country lady, not very well educated, but she loved her son. This was the letter: Dear Son: Just a few lines to let you know that I am still alive. I'm writing this letter slowly because I know that you cannot read very ...

1344. Love: The Happiness of a Godly Family

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Sermon

James Merritt

Thomas Jefferson could truly say, "Been there, done that, now what?" He was Ambassador to France, the first Secretary of State, a Vice President, the President of the United States, founder of a major university, author of the greatest political document in history, a multi-faceted inventor, architect, author, farmer, and scholar. He was perhaps the most brilliant man ever to occupy the White House. He was present at the signing of the Declaration of Independence; he attended the second Continental ...

1345. Final Destination

Psalm 23:6

Sermon

James Merritt

I have been preaching through the 23rd Psalm, and I have entitled this series of messages “Good Vibrations.” Good vibrations are important. Dr. Michael Jacobson cited a recent study in which patients were asked to recall various types of emotional experiences, while doctors monitored their physiological reactions. They were first asked to recall an argument in which they became very angry or frustrated. The patient was to relive that experience in their mind for five minutes. The doctors noted that these ...

1346. How Do You Sell A Vacuum Cleaner?

Mark 7:31-37

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

There is only one way to sell a vacuum cleaner turn it on and use it. There is only one way to evangelize turn on your faith and use it! Jesus used a variety of methods sometimes strange, sometimes plain, sometimes controversial to bring wholeness and wellness into people's lives. Jesus tailored his healing techniques to the needs of the person or community, but there was one unchangeable and unshakable foundation around which everything else revolved: He was what he said he was. He turned on his life to ...

1347. Like a Good Neighbor – Jesus Is There

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

James Merritt

If you have ever watched the President of the United States deliver the State of the Union Address in recent years, you know that at some point in his speech he will point to the balcony and introduce an ordinary citizen as a real hero in this country. You may not know but that custom began when President Ronald Reagan introduced a man named Lenny Skutnik. To this day reporters will ask presidential aides the question: "Who are the ‘Skutniks' this year?'" Lenny Skutnik was a federal worker walking down the ...

1348. A Glimpse of God

Exodus 33:19-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

What would you feel like if you had an appointment with God at 9 A.M. tomorrow? Would you be able to eat for the rest of the day? How much sleep do you think you’d get tonight? You’ve got an appointment with God at 9 A.M. in the morning. He has given you instructions as to where to meet him and what to bring with you. That was the case with Moses. “Come up in the morning to Mount Sinai,” God said, “and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain.” Moses was to bring with tables of stones like ...

1349. The Unforgivable Sin

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

One of my favorite preachers, Clarence Forsberg, tells a story about a man who realized his life-long ambition by going on a safari in Africa. “He took along his wife, even though she was not the outdoors type. They set up camp in a jungle cleaning, and as he prepared to go out the first day he presented his wife with a little silver bell. He explained, ‘There is really nothing to worry about. I’m not going to be very far away. If you have any trouble at all, just ring this bell, and I’ll come right back.’ ...

1350. Hey, What’s that Sound?

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sermon

Tony Everett

Here’s a familiar story. Two large oak trees had fallen across Bob’s front lawn during a huge thunderstorm the previous evening. Deciding to cut them up for firewood, Bob went to the local hardware store to purchase a chain saw. “I need the best chain saw you have,” Bob told the store manager. “Yes sir,” said the manager. “This one here will cut up to ten cords of wood in an eight-hour work day.” “I’ll take it,” Bob replied, “I need to get those trees off my lawn and turn them into fireplace fuel for next ...

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