Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1426 to 1450 of 4946 results

1426. Egypt

Ezekiel 29:1-21, Ezekiel 30:1-26, Ezekiel 31:1-18, Ezekiel 32:1-32

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

The last four chapters of Ezekiel’s oracles against the nations consist of a loose collection of seven prophecies, all concerned with Egypt: an allegorical oracle depicting Pharaoh as a dragon in the Nile (29:1–16); a late appendix to the book promising Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar (29:17–21); a lament over Egypt (30:1–19); a second oracle against the Pharaoh (30:20–26); an allegory depicting Egypt as the World Tree (31:1–18); a lament over Pharaoh, recapitulating the dragon allegory (32:1–16); and a funeral ...

1427. Love And Money

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

William G. Carter

A seminary professor named Stanley Hauerwas has a novel idea about how churches should receive new members. A teacher of Christian ethics at Duke University, he has written about the church's need for honesty and has called us to tell the truth as a "community of character." To this end, he has a modest proposal. Whenever people join the church, Hauerwas thinks they should stand and answer four questions: Who is your Lord and Savior? The response: "Jesus Christ." Do you trust in him and seek to be his ...

1428. The Agenda Factor

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

William L. Self

Architecture and power are Siamese twins joined at the hip. Rulers have always wanted to translate their power into brick and mortar -- from the tower of Babel and Egypt's pharaohs to Chairman Mao, Joseph Stalin, and Adolf Hitler. I. M. Pei, in his contract given by FranÁois Mitterand to renovate the Louvre, was commissioned to re-establish the glory of France. Serious resources have been committed by rulers to display their strength and grandeur with architecture. David had finally consolidated his ...

1429. A Law We Can Live With

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

Many of you, I'm sure, have seen those public service announcements on television promoting the use of safety belts which close with the tag line: "A law we can live with." It's intended, of course, to be something of a double entendre -- the phrase "can live with" meaning both able to accept and able to survive. Whether it will actually prove an effective campaign, I suppose only time will tell. However, at the risk of appearing irreverent, it seems to me that the same could be claimed of the Ten ...

1430. Where The Halls Cross

Luke 10:25-37

Sermon

David O. Bales

I have the two best jobs in the world. I teach social studies at Leon Griffith Junior High School (a fairly small junior high) and I am Sunday School Superintendent at Calvary Presbyterian Church (an enormous church school). Each job is my vocation. I tell people that at school they'll find my room where the halls cross. At church they can look but probably won't find me. I'll be in someone's classroom. At each job I practice what I most deeply believe: it's how you see the world that determines how you ...

1431. Proper 21

1 Timothy 6:11-21, Jeremiah 32:1-44, Luke 16:19-31

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 Jeremiah buys a lot when Jerusalem is about to fall. Jeremiah was a prisoner of King Zedekiah for preaching that the Babylonians would destroy Jerusalem along with the temple. While Jeremiah was a prisoner in the king's palace, Hanamel came to Jeremiah with an offer to sell his lot in Anathoth. Jeremiah bought the lot for 17 shekels of silver and had Baruch put the deed in an earthenware jar for safekeeping for a long time. The Lord assured Jeremiah that ...

1432. Proper 23

Exodus 32:1-33:6, Isaiah 25:1-12, Matthew 22:1-14, Philippians 4:1-9

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The importance of accepting God's gracious invitation to the feast of life. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 32:1-14 Moses is meeting with the Lord on Mount Horeb and is away from the people for a long time. The people suspect that something perverse has happened to their leader and so they petition Aaron to make gods for them. Taking their jewelry, he fashions a gold calf and proclaims it the object of their worship. Seeing this unfaithfulness, God wants to destroy the people and make a nation from ...

1433. Those Who Mourn

Sermon

John A. Terry

Isaiah 40:1-5Matthew 5:1-12 I believe we have developed a greater understanding of the meaning and means of mourning. In 1969, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross published her classic book titled On Death and Dying. In it she identified five basic stages in the grieving process: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Personally and professionally, I have found these helpful categories in recognizing where I am in my grieving and where others are in theirs. I have also found it to be true that getting ...

1434. Those Who Mourn

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

John A. Terry

I believe we have developed a greater understanding of the meaning and means of mourning. In 1969, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross published her classic book titled On Death and Dying. In it she identified five basic stages in the grieving process: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Personally and professionally, I have found these helpful categories in recognizing where I am in my grieving and where others are in theirs. I have also found it to be true that getting stuck in any one of the first ...

1435. Advent 4

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Both Old Testament and Gospel portray the theme of God building a house, a kingdom or a people. In the Old Testament text, King David desires to build a temple for God but finds out that God is going to be the One building a house (dynasty) of David's descendents. In the Gospel, Angel Gabriel informs the Virgin Mary that God is going to build up his Kingdom through the son she was to conceive through the Holy Spirit. COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 David wants to build in Jerusalem a ...

1436. Proper 26

Hebrews 9:11-28, Ruth 1:1-22, Mark 12:28-34

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Getting back to the basics, to love God with one's entire being and to love the neighbor as oneself. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Ruth 1:1-18 This story, known by even the biblically illiterate, finds its setting during the time of the judges. Elimelech and his wife Naomi migrate to Moab, probably for economic reasons, where they settle. Their two sons marry Moabite wives. During the course of time, all of the men in Naomi's family die. She hears that there is food in the land of her origin and decides ...

1437. Dispelling Ministry Illusions

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

Ron Lavin

Jeremiah is often regarded as a Christ-figure, a prophet like Jesus, who suffered at the hands of his own people because he loved them enough to tell them the truth. A God-inspired man, fearlessly denouncing the religious laxity and social ills of his day, Jeremiah paid the price for his words. Tradition says that in 587 B.C., when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem as Jeremiah had predicted, his own people murdered him. The text we have before us is the call to ministry of the prophet Jeremiah in about ...

1438. The Godness Of God

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Ex-Senator Sam Ervin tells about a man known as the most ignorant man of Burke County, North Carolina. When he was asked if he knew what county he lived in, he said, "Nope." Did he know the name of his state? "Nope." Then he was asked whether he had ever heard of Jesus Christ. "No," he answered. Finally, in desperation, they asked him if he had ever heard of God. "I believe I have," he replied "Is his last name Damn?" This might be considered a very unusual case, but this is just about all that many know ...

1439. Do Not Enter

2 Corinthians 6:3-13

Children's Sermon

Object: a big piece of chain and a sign with the words "Do Not Enter." Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever ridden in a car with your mother or father and seen this sign? [Hold up the "Do Not Enter" sign.] You are just about to turn into this street when you have to put on your brakes and stop. The place you want to go is right up that block, but they won't let you go past the sign because the street is torn up, or it is one way, the other way. That sign is an obstacle. It keeps us from going where ...

1440. Proper 28

Lk 21:5-19 · 2 Thes 3:6-13 · Mal 3:19-20, 4:1-6

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Malachi 4:1-6 For the wicked the coming Day of the Lord will be doom but for the righteous there will be healing and joy. The writer of Malachi is unknown. The name means "my messenger." Scholars believe he wrote in the latter part of the fifth century, the post-exilic period. Malachi contains the only reference in the Old Testament to the forerunner of the Day of the Lord, Elijah. In verses 1-3, we are told that the coming Day of the Lord will solve all of Israel's moral and religious problems ...

1441. The Excitement of Meaningful Living

John 10:10 · Matthew 6:33 · Ephesians 3:20

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

When Jesus said, "My yoke is easy," he was telling it like it is. This caring, this moral commitment, this faith and obedience we have been talking about are really not a burden upon the life of the individual. All these dimensions of life, when inspired by the Holy Spirit, are generators of strength and purpose. In this way personal life finds its wholeness and completeness, and this is what Jesus meant by saying, "I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly." It is a joyful thing. This is ...

1442. The Discipline of Witnessing

Isaiah 43:1-13

Sermon

Today we talk about witnessing, or "TELLING OTHERS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST." This is even more difficult for most of us. For, quite frankly, we Presbyterians don’t like to think about witnessing. We leave it to the Mormons, or the Jehovah Witnesses, or some of the fringe groups; we much prefer to do things "decently and in order." Somehow witnessing sounds too fanatic! Someone has characterized us as being parallel to those men who belong to the military reserve. We go to drills once a week but we are not on ...

1443. The Good News of the Cross

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

Do you love God? Wait a moment. Wait a moment before you answer, and think, because you are in danger of perjuring yourselves. Quite frankly, I’m deeply suspicious of people who are always running around saying how much they love God. You see, I remember the words of our Lord: "You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said, ‘This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’" I am confronted with the fact that such a man as Saint Paul was constantly tortured by the ...

1444. 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 ...

1445. When the Sermon Turns Sour

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

I want to let you in on an industry secret. Ready? Most preachers have a difficult time preaching in the congregations where they grew up. It is true for me. I was recently invited to preach in the church where I grew up. My mixed feelings about the invitation were justified. Before anybody heard a word I said, they remembered little Billy Carter, who made paper airplanes out of worship bulletins and dropped them from the balcony when nobody was looking. Even the newcomers who joined long after I moved ...

1446. Getting It Together

Luke 6:37-42

Sermon

William G. Carter

Hypocrisy. We know it when we see it. A newspaper recently quoted a congressman. I had to read the article twice to make sure I got it right. In the midst of a debate, an elected official stood to address the House of Representatives. Here’s what he said: “Never before have I heard such ill-informed, wimpy, back-stabbing drivel as that just uttered by my respected colleague, the distinguished gentleman from Ohio.” Hypocrisy. We know it when we see it. Maybe you heard about the leader in another church who ...

1447. All I Want for Christmas is a Savior

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

James W. Moore

Have you heard about the little boy who loved going to church? He enjoyed the music, the scriptures, the creeds, the sermon, and the fellowship. The only part about going to church that the little boy didn’t like, were those long pastoral prayers! He really liked his minister, but his minister prayed long, long pastoral prayers... and sometimes it seemed to the little boy that the prayer would never end. Then one Sunday, the little boy’s parents invited the minister home for Sunday lunch... and would you ...

1448. Ban the "Buts"

Luke 9:57-62

Sermon

David E. Leininger

It was a church women's conference. In a workshop which focused on conflict resolution, the leader asked participants to take part in an exercise. Her purpose was to demonstrate that many times people do not present what is really concerning them, they rather come forth with a blanket statement that is so broad it cannot be dealt with. Conferees were to break into "twos"; then, one would present something with which they had a problem - something that upset them. The other half of the couple was then to ...

1449. A Tale of Two Sisters

Luke 10:38-42

Sermon

David E. Leininger

With a title like "A Tale of Two Sisters," I guess this should open with something like "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." But it was neither. Unusual, to be sure. Even a little exciting. After all, these were the days of an itinerant rabbi called Jesus of Nazareth who was attracting quite a bit of attention. At some point previous - we are never told when, where or how - these two sisters, Mary and Martha, along with their brother Lazarus, had been introduced to Jesus. They must have ...

1450. Excited By Our Faith

John 1:35-42

Sermon

King Duncan

There was a rather poor, elderly lady who sometimes visited a church in her town. The lay elders of the church were always embarrassed when she did, because she loved to get excited in the service. "Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!" she would shout. That was more than the dignified members of this staid congregation could endure. One Sunday morning the church elders greeted her at the door and made an agreement with her. They promised her a new, heavy blanket for the cold, winter months if she would not shout ...

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