Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1351 to 1375 of 4914 results

1351. Let It Loose!

Mark 7:31-37, Exodus 4:1-17, Exodus 4:18-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Let it loose! Let ‘er rip! Open up and give the best rip-roaring shout of praise you can muster up! Ready –shout! [Cock your ear to listen…] That was your shout of praise? Let’s try that again! [Invite people to whoop it up!] Well, that’s something that’s become hard for us to do in church these days, isn’t it? Here we are experiencing the most amazing, mind-blowing truth of all time –the resurrection of Jesus and the super-charged presence of the Holy Spirit blowing right through and among us here this ...

1352. The Interpretation of the Vision

Daniel 8:15-27

Understanding Series

William Nelson

The Vision of the Ram and the Male Goat: Here in chapter 8 the language reverts back to Hebrew. When the Aramaic section began, the narrator introduced it by saying, “The astrologers answered the king in Aramaic” (2:4). There is no explanation given in chapter 8 for the change back. The author inherited the Aramaic material (2:4b–7:28) but shaped it for his purposes. He then added chapters 1 (actually, 1:1–2:4a) and 8–12 in Hebrew. Chapter 8 is linked to chapter 7 explicitly by informing the reader that ...

1353. Pentecost: The Neglected Factor

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The book of the Bible most closed to modern Christians, I believe, is the book of Acts. It is actually the record of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of those who were left to carry on that first century after Jesus’ departure from the earthly scene. It is the account of the dynamic released in the world through men and women of prayer. Jesus promised, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you. And he told those scared followers to wait in Jerusalem for the promise. For John ...

1354. God’s Body Language

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Presbyterian preacher Thomas Hilton tells of watching Billy Graham on television a few years back, when his small daughter Karin came into the living room and looked at the television set and exclaimed, “Dad, what is he so mad about?” To a small child the body language of a person is often more important than the verbal language. She saw the raised arm, heard the loud voice, saw the intense face, and assumed anger. I have an idea that was not the message that Billy was trying to get across, but children ...

1355. Easter Vigil

Genesis 1:1-2:3, Romans 6:1-14, Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The Old Testament lessons for the Easter Vigil represent a wide sweep of texts that explore the mighty acts of God as both savior and creator. The central text for the Easter Vigil is the account of Israel's salvation at the Reed Sea in Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21. The actions of God in our world—from creation to the full realization of a distant future salvation—are all viewed in light of the reality of Israel's salvation at the sea. This event will also be our lens as we read through ...

1356. A Career in The Kingdom

Matthew 21:23-32

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

When Sadie and Bessie, the famed "Delany Sisters," were in the early years of their second centuries (103 and 105, respectively) they told interviewers, "God only gave you one body, so you better be nice to it. Exercise, because if you don't, by the time you're our age, you'll be pushing up daisies." Fitness gymnasiums ought to put the Delany Sisters on their billboards and quote them into larger profit margins. Some people get into exercise in a very big way. When Teddy Roosevelt was president of the ...

1357. Dark Waters

Exodus 13:17--14:31, Joshua 3:1-4:24

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Prop: sound of water may be used in the background along with visuals Song: Wade in the Water One of my favorite phrases is “I’m up to my neck in alligators.” For some reason that phrase always tickled my funny bone and stuck to my ribs. It means, to be overwrought with deadlines and expectations, to be nearly consumed, to be working to full capacity. It means, “I’m close to drowning in work,” “I’m in nearly over my head,” “I’m in full deep.” Or as we also might say, “If I don’t keep paddling, I’ll be in ...

1358. Easter Day

John 20:1-9, John 20:10-18, Acts 10:23b-48, 1 Corinthians 15:12-34, Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Acts 10:34-43 Peter tells Cornelius and his friends that God raised Jesus from the dead. A very devout Roman centurion, Cornelius, sends for Peter to preach to him and his friends. In his sermon, Peter reviews the ministry of Jesus including the crucifixion and resurrection. It is to be noted that Peter says that God raised Jesus; he did not raise himself. Note also that Peter explains that the risen Christ did not appear to people in general but to a few chosen ones whom he commanded ...

1359. Lent 1

Lk 4:1-13 · Rom 10:8-13 · Deut 26:1-11 · Ps 91

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Upon entering the Promised Land the people are to present the first fruits and to rejoice in Yahweh's goodness. Deuteronomy deals with the time of King Josiah's reforms in 621 B.C. One of the reforms was the centralization of worship in Jerusalem's temple. One of the three compulsory pilgrimages to Jerusalem was the Feast of Weeks when a basket of first fruits was presented to the priest, placed before the altar, and the worshiper responded by re-telling the ...

1360. Proper 9

Galatians 6:1-10, 2 Kings 5:1-27, Luke 10:1-24

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Kings 5:1-14 General Naaman of Syria is healed of leprosy by obeying Elisha's order to bathe in the Jordan. The confession of faith by an unknown Jewish slave girl in the home of Syria's chief of staff results in the cure of leprosy for her master, Naaman. On the basis of the confession Naaman goes to Israel. When Elisha the prophet orders him to wash in the Jordan seven times, he goes off in a rage feeling insulted. But his aides convince him to stay. Naaman then dips himself ...

1361. Proper 18

Mark 7:24-30, Mark 7:31-37, Proverbs 22:1-16, James 2:1-13

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Faith active in good works. COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23 (C) Practical advice concerning values. A good name is better than riches. The person who shares his wealth will be blessed by God but the unjust will experience calamity. God will judge those who beat down the poor. Lesson 1: Isaiah 35:4-7a (RC, E) Lesson 2: James 2:1-10 (11-13) 14-17 (C); James 2:1-5 (RC) The Church is warned of the dangers of showing partiality to the wealthy and making the poor take a back seat. James ...

1362. Hostage Crisis

1 Kings 19:1-8

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

Sweat swarmed and beaded the palms of his hands as his heart thumped and pulse escalated. Bulging eyes blinked rapidly as his face twitched. His brown, swollen hands rumbled nervously through the inside pocket of his urine-stained tweed overcoat. "I got to find a match," he said to himself. "I got to find a match." Again he jerked through every pocket of his pants, jacket, and shirt. Still no match. Wildly flailing his arms more frantically now, he began overturning chairs and tables in the room. Yellow ...

1363. Death of the Unchurched For a Recovering Alcoholic

Eulogy

Alan Bacon Bond

Using the Available Spiritual Resources The deceased was a forty-eight-year-old married man with five children in their late teens and early twenties. He was a recovering alcoholic with a twelve-year chip. He had been sick for two days with influenza, and, while having had some high blood pressure problems some years earlier, showed no signs for alarm. He simply failed to wake up one morning. The family was unchurched and seemingly bereft of spiritual resources until it became evident that most of them ...

1364. See the Light, Be the Light

Matthew 5:13-16

Sermon

Johnny Dean

You have come today, as most of you regularly do, to worship God. You’ve come to pray, to hear the reading of Scripture, to sing songs of praise, and to be reassured by the presence of your neighbor. But there may be an additional reason many of you have come today, one that you may or may not be aware of: curiosity. What hymns will we sing today? Will they be the old standards the church has been singing for a thousand years or will the preacher or the choir director try to make us learn one that was ...

1365. Of Preachers and Preaching

Micah 1:8-16

Sermon

Of the several significant themes which may be identified in the Scripture lessons read today, I choose the one about preachers and preaching. Perhaps this is because I tune in most easily on this wave length. The prophet Micah came out of the village of Moresheth with a message concerning Samaria and Jerusalem which he was sure the Lord wanted him to deliver. It was a social Gospel message condemning the prominent and powerful of those societies for their many sins. "Have you no sense of justice?" he ...

1366. Lent 1

Lk 4:1-13 · Rom 10:8-13 · Deut 26:1-11

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Upon entering the Promised Land the people are to present the first fruits and to rejoice in Yahweh's goodness. Deuteronomy deals with the time of King Josiah's reforms in 621 B.C. One of the reforms was the centralization of worship in Jerusalem's temple. One of the three compulsory pilgrimages to Jerusalem was the Feast of Weeks when a basket of first fruits was presented to the priest, placed before the altar, and the worshiper responded by re-telling the account of the ...

1367. Binding Up the Fractured World

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Sermon

Hubert Beck

The universe is held together in a most remarkable unity. When one reads scientific descriptions of how everything works, whether it be in the cosmic dimensions of the heavenly bodies or whether it be in the mini-dimensions of the atom, one is overwhelmed with wonder. What keeps everything together and holds it in its place? Why doesn’t it fly off into every direction and dissolve into absolute chaos? We know, of course, for it is part of our confession of faith, that somehow we tie all this to the work of ...

1368. Focused Light

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

William F. Dunkle

The Epiphany story, if not mythical, is certainly mysterious. It is recorded briefly in only one Gospel and never again mentioned as such in New Testament writings. But the lovely tale of Bethlehem’s Star, of adoring wise men, of fabulous gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, strange as it all may be, is surely cherished Christian folklore indeed. It has been told and retold through all the ages as Christians have celebrated our Lord’s Nativity. We decorate homes, hearths, altars, and Yule trees with the ...

1369. Easter People

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

Easter is the greatest of all holidays because it commemorates the greatest event that ever happened, Christ’s triumph over death. The resurrection of Christ is a glorious fact to be known and remembered, and indeed every Sunday is to Christ’s people a reminder that on the first day of the week our Lord brought us life out of death. But the Easter message which the apostle proclaims calls us to do more than celebrate a great event and remember a great fact. It invites us to be not merely spectators of the ...

1370. It's Time to Get Up

John 11:1-45

Sermon

Brett Blair

We could all use good news right now and I have Good News for you: God has a resurrection for you! He wants to bring you out into the light again. He wants to bring you out of that tomb of oppression and give you a new start. And listen! He has the power to do it. He can bring you back to life. This powerful story in John 11 speaks to this. Remember it with me. Mary and Martha who live in Bethany are some of Jesus’ closest friends. They send word to him that their brother, whose name is Lazarus, is ...

1371. Yearning For Rejection; Thriving On Insults

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

A young single man checked into a Hilton Hotel. A card left on his pillow said, "Turn down service available, 7-10 p.m." The message meant that a housekeeper was available to turn down the covers on the bed during those hours. This young man saw a different message. "Why would you ever want a service like that?" he asked. "A turn down service ” unless you have incredibly low self-esteem." He added, "Usually my turn downs come long before 7 p.m.." Have you ever been turned down? Rejected? Insulted? A group ...

1372. Beginning Again

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Two men are leaning against the office water cooler. One says to the other, "Say, you look depressed. What are you thinking about?" "My future," his friend sighed. "What makes your future look so hopeless?" the first man asked. "My past," he replied. (1) Don't you wish you could be a fly on the wall for the rest of that conversation! I'd like to know what regrets from that man's past were stealing away his hope for the future. A few months back, there was a particularly sad letter in the Billy Graham ...

1373. Above All--god

Revelation 21:1-27

Sermon

King Duncan

In a recent story in The Washington Times, First Lady Laura Bush recalled a visit with her husband to the home of his parents, the former president and Mrs. Bush. According to Laura Bush, on this visit her husband, the most powerful man on earth, woke up at 6:00 a.m. as usual and went downstairs to get a cup of coffee. As he sat down on the sofa, he put his feet up on the coffee table. All of a sudden, his mother yelled out, "Put your feet down!" His father said, "For goodness' sake, Barbara, he's the ...

1374. The Lord's Prayer: Forgive Us Our Trespasses

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

Eric Ritz

Have you ever noticed that the great documents like this perfect pattern prayer, the Apostles'' Creed, the Nicene Creed, doctrinal statements of various church traditions, all affirm our need for forgiveness and God providing the means and methods by which we are forgiven? As we continue in our series on The Lord''s Prayer, I want to share with you why I believe this is the hardest petition for any of us to fulfill. To put it simply, it is difficult. To demonstrate how difficult it is to forgive, as soon ...

1375. Reflections On A Calling (ten-year Anniversary Sermon)

2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

One of my heroes is Bishop Gerald Kennedy. He was the Bishop in Southern California who extended me the invitation to join his conference when we were under such great pressure in Mississippi back in 1964. I spent ten wonderful years under his leadership there in Southern California. He's one of the greatest preachers, I believe, on this century. He was fond of telling about the Anglican Bishop who defined a sermon in this fashion: "A sermon is what a preacher will travel across the continent to deliver, ...

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