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 1326 to 1350 of 2273 results

1326. Two Bodies for Two Worlds

Isaiah 26:1-21

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise, O dwellers of the dust, awake and sing for joy! But some one will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" (1 Corinthians 15:35) "Body Shop," "Body Control," "Body Power," "Body Wisdom," "Body Glow" - so say the newspaper ads urging us to do something about our bodies. Today we are a body-conscious people. We believe in body building through exercise. In America, there are 10,000,000 joggers, 15,000,000 serious swimmers, 25,000,000 ...

1327. The Church’s Fear and Comfort

Acts 9:19b-31

Sermon

Richard F. Bansemer

The sermon today is based upon the 31st verse of the ninth chapter of Acts: "So the church throughout all of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was built up; and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit it was multiplied." Imagine yourself, for a moment, as the employee of a large corporation. Let’s take the company out of the United States, for what we are about to demonstrate is harder to believe in one’s home country. Pretend, if you will, that you are located deep ...

1328. Eternal Echo Of Easter - Part 2

Matthew 28:1-10

Drama

Esther R. Russ

PROVIDING MUSICAL BACKGROUND This program is most effective if all the narrations, dialogues, readings, and drama are given with background music. We used a combination of two types of musical background: (1) various record selections, which we recorded on a high-quality tape, and (2) live organ music. Taped Background In this area of the production, creativity can be unlimited. Simple music from records may be taped, or more complicated music that requires timing of appropriate words. For example, the ...

1329. A Glimpse of God

John 14:5-14

Sermon

George Bass

Philip seems, according to St. John, to have more in common with Thomas than he does with James the Less, the son of Alphaeus, of whom we have precious little information as a disciple, an evangelist, or even - as tradition tells us - as a martyr. Not that much more is known about Philip! Circumstance linked Philip and James the Less together because their remains, or relics, were moved to the Church of the Apostles in Rome on May 1; their bodies still lie together in a crypt under the main altar of this ...

1330. Lift High the Christ!

John 12:20-36

Sermon

George Bass

Suddenly, right here in the middle of September, it is Palm Sunday again, the beginning of the week that we call Holy Week or the Week of the Passion of Christ. That strange procession, which must have been first seen by the guards on the city wall as it moved toward Jerusalem, takes shape before our imaginations again. The central figure - Jesus - is seated upon "a colt of a donkey," and people throw palm branches in his path, shouting "Hosanna! Blessings on the King of Israel, who comes in the name of ...

1331. Who Keeps Getting in My Way?

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

Some years ago, ten doctors were appointed by the United States Government to meet together and draw up ten laws of public health, which were to be given to the American people to serve as a guide for good health. After twelve days of extensive debate, they found that they could not agree on the laws because of their diverse areas of concern: one was a cancer specialist, one a heart surgeon, one a psychiatrist, and so on. Also, they were from different sections of the country and were concerned that some ...

1332. How’s Your Appetite?

Matthew 5:6 · Luke 14:1-14

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

In any home where there are small children with parents who do not sanction a complete submission to television, the most familiar request is: "Tell us a story." And those stories are remembered for the rest of their lives. There is not a single adult or child, I dare say, who could not tell the story of Little Red Riding Hood, of Goldilocks and her bears, of the three little pigs, the big, bad wolf, and countless other favorite characters. This is true of a congregation or a reader. A congregation almost ...

1333. Healthy Are the Poor In Spirit

Matthew 5:1-12

Illustration

Some years ago a panel of doctors was appointed by the Federal government to meet together and draw up eight laws off public health that could be printed in pamphlet form and distributed to the public. After twelve days off exhaustive meetings, the doctors were unable to come to a consensus. It seems that their areas off concern were so diverse: one was a cancer specialist, one a cardiologist, one a psychiatrist, and they all approached the problem from their own discipline. The chest expert was concerned ...

1334. Journey To The Cross VI: Jesus And Pontius Pilate

Matthew 27:11-26

Sermon

James W. Moore

Jesus came riding triumphantly into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday... the picture of success. But then, just a few days later, he was nailed to a cross like a common criminal. What happened? What do we make of this? Was Jesus a success? What do you think? Well, for many years now, we in America... have been highly “success-conscious,” “success-oriented.” And most have agreed with Webster’s definition: “Success is the attainment of wealth and fame.” Think about it. Isn’t it true that when we think of success... ...

1335. The Gospel According to Christ’s Enemies

John 11:1-16

Sermon

Richard Hoefler

John begins his story, "A man named Lazarus, who lived in Bethany." "Lazarus" means "God helps," and "Bethany," some scholars suggest, is a figurative play on the word that means "House of Affliction."1 Thus the plot of the story is prepared for us. God helps a man in a house of affliction. All of us dwell in that same house, and our affliction is that, like Lazarus, one day we will die. We will be struck down, carried out, and placed in a tomb. It will be sealed with a stone of sorrow. And the haunting ...

1336. I Knew You’d Come

John 6:16-24

Sermon

Richard Hoefler

When the unsinkable Titanic struck an iceberg and sank, one reporter wrote, "The tragedy of man is that he cannot build a boat to match his boasts." In many ways we have been able to conquer the sea. When it loomed up as a barrier to our progress across the earth we built boats to sail on it, created atomic submarines to travel through it, and designed jets to fly over it. What’s more, we can even swim in it. But we cannot become master of it. The story which forms the miracle we consider now is about a ...

1337. One Thing

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

If you could accomplish but one significant deed in your life, what would you want it to be? If you wanted to be remembered for one act of your life more than all others, what would that act be? All want to be remembered, all of us. No one wants to be forgotten. Even our Lord Jesus wanted to be remembered. Surely that was one of the reasons he shared bread and wine with his closest friends on the night of his betrayal, saying, "Do this in remembrance of me." That certainly was a beautiful and memorable ...

1338. Are You Exercising Your Faith?

Mt 4:1-11 · Phil 3:12 · Gen 32:3

Sermon

Robert Noblett

There was once a woman who had faith. When asked the origins of that faith, she supposed they were many. For one thing her mother and father were, in the best sense of the term, religious people. Prayers in their home were regular and natural, and this woman, together with her siblings, were involved as children in this prayer life. What’s more, this woman’s parents were members of a local congregation. In this context, she learned many of the famous stories of the Bible. She also became familiar with a ...

1339. What Is Your Holy Week Address?

Matthew 27:45-56

Sermon

Robert Noblett

One of the earliest accomplishments of a child that brings plaudits from Mom and Dad is the ability to recite one’s address and telephone number. Should the child become lost, there is at least a small measure of comfort in the prospect that the child just might spew forth what has been committed to memory. This address is a geographical one. Later on, another address becomes evident, an address that reveals the location of one’s presence spiritually. Often we assign people such spiritual locations and do ...

1340. Issachar

Genesis 49:1-28

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

Of all the sins which so easily beset us, spiritual laziness can become the most deadly and deadening. If allowed to permeate the soul, it results in spiritual slavery. There is a legend of the Greek citizen who voluntarily sold himself into slavery because he did not want to be encumbered by the problems of freedom. Many people prefer to spend their days free from mental and spiritual exertion. Tragically, such individuals become spiritual slaves. When freedom is relinquished, servitude results. ISSACHAR ...

1341. Joseph

Proverbs 10:1-32

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

He is the forgotten one of the gospel drama. In reality, Joseph fills an essential role not only in the birth narrative of the Christ, but in the entire story of Jesus. We had better not forget Joseph. If we do, we will be poorer for it, and the Christian message will have lost a noble spirit. JOSEPH’S ROLE A major reason for overlooking Joseph is the historic emphasis on the virgin birth. It is my conviction that if God chose to bring his Son to life by means of miraculous birth, who can say he could not ...

1342. THIS MAN NAMED JESUS

Drama

Marcia Miller

This Man Named Jesus is designed to bring into focus certain biblical truths about the Son of Man and his mission on earth. It is a dialogue among three people, each of whom has a different point of view in telling about Jesus. First, there is a person who tells the story of Jesus and his ministry. That story is backed by the second person, who quotes Scripture. The third gives theological insight into what has been said. The Scriptures used are: Matthew 1:21; 3:2, 17; 13:13-15, 44, 57; 27:54; 28:19; Luke ...

1343. THE GOOD SAMARITAN

Drama

Marcia Miller

The story of The Good Samaritan is written in Luke 10:30-35. The full explanation of this simple play is given by The Greeter within the first speeches of the play. It was written in this style so that it would be specific and not just a rewriting of the New Testament story that is so familiar. It is not a subtle theological approach; it is direct. But in its directness it is hoped that the discoursive language does not outweigh the entertainment value. CHARACTERS THE GREETER The Greeter can either be male ...

1344. Living Water for a Thirsty Soul

John 4:1-26

Sermon

Brett Blair

One of the commencement traditions at Harvard University is Senior Class Chapel. On the morning of graduation, seniors gather in Memorial Church to hear the minister offer words of solace and encouragement as they leave “the Yard” to take their places in the world. The 1998 senior class heard the unvarnished truth from the Rev. Peter Gomes, minister at Harvard and the author of several books on the Bible, including The Good Book and Sermons. In his gentle ringing tones, that call to mind a cross between a ...

1345. Food for Faith

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Pentecost XI Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a lonely place apart. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. As he went ashore he saw a great throng; and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves." Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to ...

1346. Jesus ... Who?

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." [Matthew 16:13-16] Supplementary text: Matthew 17:1-9 When Jimmy Carter first started campaigning for the presidency in 1976, the slogan in some parts of the ...

1347. Caiaphas and Pilate

Drama

Jon Joyce

Setting The balcony of the Herodian Palace at Jerusalem overlooking the city. A coffee table or cocktail table covered with a linen cloth holds a silver dish of fresh fruit - grapes, olives, your choice. There is a small bowl of fresh flowers in the center of the table. Stage right of the table there is a chair befitting the position of Pontius Pilate; it may be an overstuffed chair, a chancel chair as found in some liturgical churches, or another highbacked chair covered with gold or violet cloth. Stage ...

1348. Claudia Procula, Peter, and Centurion

Drama

Jon Joyce

Setting Near Golgotha, but far enough away from the three crosses that there are few people. The background may show the three crosses and some observers, if you want to paint a backdrop. Cast and Costumes Centurion: knee-length white or tan robe; at the bottom of the robe is a four-inch decorative hem of bright colors. He carries a small sword, sheathed at his left side. Sandals. If available, he also wears a Roman helmet. If a Roman soldier’s outfit is available from a costumer, it would be ideal. Peter ...

1349. Running With Patience

Hebrews 12:1-13

Sermon

Allan J. Weenink

In the book of Hebrews there is a fascinating phrase. The writer says, "... let us run with patience the race that is set before us, our eyes fixed on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith ..." There’s an interesting antithesis here: run with patience. Just exactly how do you do that? When we run a foot race, we don’t want to be hampered by anything. The competitor throws off all restraints and eagerly thrusts forward to the goal, unencumbered except with a burning passion to finish first. Is there ...

1350. Love of God and Love of Country

Sermon

Harold Warlick

Henry is a man who loves his country. He is a veteran of two wars, proudly displays the American flag on the rooftop of his home on holidays, and angrily denounces critics of the American form of government. He is a patriot. He believes that if we just left everyone alone, this country would straighten itself out and show peace to the world. He turns his back to the poverty and prejudice that exist and proclaims that we should either love America or leave it. To Henry, George Washington was Moses, Jesus ...

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