Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1451 to 1475 of 2561 results

1451. The Cure for the Slump

Luke 24:36-49

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: If we could talk to Jesus, how would that change us? Summary: Dale is in a spiritual slump and James is trying his best to help him but can't seem to budge him. Playing Time: 3 minutes Setting: A neutral playing area Props: Handcuffs Costumes: Contemporary, casual Time: The present Cast: Dale -- in a slump James -- his friend Police Detective 1 Police Detective 2 JAMES: (ENTERS ALONG WITH DALE) D'you know what? DALE: What? JAMES: I didn't understand tonight's teaching. Did you? DALE: What? JAMES: ...

1452. Going The Wrong Way On A One Way Street

Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon

Ron Lavin

Have you ever made a wrong turn and found yourself going the wrong way on a one way street? I did that not long ago. It certainly was unnerving. One man, who made this mistake said, "I just figured I was late and everyone was coming home." God has a clear one way street for living the good life: "Believe in me and serve your neighbor." That’s what the sabbath day is about: rediscovering God and our neighbor. Anything short of that is as self-defeating as driving your car against traffic on a superhighway. ...

1453. The Acid Test of Wisdom

Proverbs 10:1-32

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

"We hold these truths to be self-evident ..." but not as evident in fact as they are held in theory - "That all men are created equal ..." and while that word "men" is the inclusive language of the opening biblical salute of Genesis 1:27, some in reality are more equal than others ... "... that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ..." - qualified in practice to mean that unless the wheel begins to squeak, the wheel will not be greased ... "... that among these are life, ...

1454. The Family Was God’s Idea

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

Currently J. Benton and Faye French Tulley Professor of Pastoral Psychology, San Francisco Theological Seminary, San Anselmo, California, and the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, EDWARD V. STEIN has been contributing books and articles to the field of pastoral care for a number of years, especially in the area of guilt formation and therapy. He has also engaged in considerable post-doctoral training in family therapy. The family in our day and time - ambiguous and needed, imperfect and hopeful, ...

1455. JESUS: Liar, Lunatic, Legend, or Lord

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Brett Blair

Before we read the text for this morning I am going to ask you to do something a little different. I want you to listen to the reading not with a heart of faith but with a skeptical mind. If it helps, imagine that you do not know that Jesus is anything else but a teacher. You are a first century person who has just been introduced to him. [Read John 6:35, 41-51] Pretty incredible isn't it? For someone to make such claims. What if, later today, you were introduced to someone and that someone said, "Hi, I am ...

1456. Good News for Bad Times

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

"Mail Early" is a slogan we often see and hear during these Advent days. The Postal Service would like the four billion Christmas cards sent annually in America in the mail by this second Sunday in Advent. American families send Christmas greetings costing an average of 35 cents per card plus a 32 cent stamp to send it. This amounts to a cost of $2.68 billion. That is a tremendous amount of money, time and trouble invested in just sending season's greetings to friends and families. What message could be ...

1457. God With A Human Face

John 1:1-18

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

After only a week of married life, a young husband had to leave his bride to fight in the war. Though they were a half- world apart in distance, they frequently exchanged letters and occasionally he would send her a gift to remind her of his love. Then one night there was a sudden and unexpected knock on her door. Cautiously she opened it and to her amazement there stood her soldier-husband. On his face was a grin that extended from ear to ear. They ran into each other's arms and laughed and cried with the ...

1458. You Are A Name!

Luke 2:21-40

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Today a name does not seem to mean much. We glibly ask, "What is a name?" As children we chanted, "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names can never hurt me." A person's name is only a label, a mark of identification. A name answers the question, "Who are you?" Because a name seems to mean little in our time, some give their children odd names. One had the name "Miss Ima Hogg." One mother named her daughter "Alpha Omega" because she was her first and hopefully her last child. A black child was ...

1459. True or False?

Isaiah 1:1-31

Sermon

John W. Wurster

“Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah” (1:10; cf. Genesis 19). Sodom. Gomorrah. Remember? Places of wickedness, of violence, of perversity. Do you know any place like that? Places where sexuality is twisted and relationships are corrupted and social order is breaking down? Places where people seek to gratify personal desires at the expense of others, where individual pursuits take precedence over common well-being, where anything goes as ...

1460. The Promise of Baptism

Isaiah 43:1-13

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

William F. Buckley, Jr., has earned the respect of some of his harshest critics with the publication of Nearer, My God. Many of his critics have been among the theologians who have had great difficulty with his rightist opinions. It is not that conservative viewpoints are not welcome, but Mr. Buckley has a penchant for delivering his thoughts in a cavalier style that betrays a snide manner of talking down to people. However, his book Nearer, My God is not offensive in its approach to Mr. Buckley’s ...

1461. The Johnson Account (A Drama about the Holy Spirit)

Drama

Dave Marsh

Director's Notes: You know what's so great about the Holy Spirit? He works so wonderfully in the life of the believer. He prompts, leads, comforts, and convicts (just to name a few!) If we are quiet enough, we can hear the Spirit speak to our spirit. I can't imagine what life would be like without His presence! It's a shame that people that don't know Him can't hear Him. Well, except in this drama, of course :) Cast: Jeff: A businessman. April: A businesswoman. Props: Table Chair Laptop Phone Papers CD or ...

1462. The Healing of the Man with the Withered Hand

Mark 2:23-3:6

Sermon

James W. Moore

A veteran senior angel was giving a brand new freshman angel a tour of the heavens. The freshman angel was wide-eyed and awe-struck as he saw the vastness and majesty and wonder of God’s incredible universe. When they came to the Milky Way, the senior angel said to the freshman angel: “Come over here, son… I want to show you something special… Look down there! That tiny planet is called Earth. It looks rather insignificant from here, doesn’t it? It looks so small, so inconsequential… but something quite ...

1463. Liberty And Civility

Galatians 5:1-15

Sermon

Brett Blair

The United States of America will be 247 years old on July 4. That's a long time for a nation to remain free. But, when you look at our history in the context of world history America is just a CHILD among the nations. Egypt, China, Japan, Rome, Greece all make America's history seem so short. Consider what a brief time we've really been here as a nation: When Thomas Jefferson died, Abraham Lincoln was a young man of 17. When Lincoln was assassinated, Woodrow Wilson was a boy of 8. By the time Woodrow ...

1464. Grace and Golf

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

David E. Leininger

"Beatin' balls and beatin' balls." That title comes from our fair city's attention to golf this week with the presence of the PGA Tour here for the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic. (It will always be the GGO to me though.) "Beatin' balls and beatin' balls." Whoever happens to win this afternoon will undoubtedly offer a phrase like that to anyone looking for advice about how to win at golf. Get out on the practice tee and spend hour upon hour upon hour upon hour "beatin' balls and beatin' balls." As ...

1465. God and Hurricanes

Matthew 5:43-48

Sermon

David E. Leininger

A scary few days, eh? Just a week ago we were hearing about this incredibly powerful Hurricane Floyd in the Atlantic that might be heading in our direction - almost a Category 5 with sustained winds near the eye of 155 miles per hour. And it cut a wide swath too, hundreds of miles in diameter. Fool that I am, I normally do not worry much about hurricanes. I have come through a few. During my years of living on the coast, I evacuated in the face of oncoming storms along with everyone else. I still have a ...

1466. 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 ...

1467. Pentecostal Power

Acts 2:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Eugene Barron, Littleton, Colorado tells of driving down a two-lane highway where someone had thrown garbage onto the road. Most of it had been scattered off the road except one plastic cup. This cup was positioned right in the middle of road. In fact, it was in the center of the two yellow lines. The road was straight enough that Barron noticed the cup long before he got to it. Every time a car passed by the cup, it would simply roll to the opposite side without moving from the center. When another car ...

1468. What We Have Is A Communication Problem

Luke 9:28-36

Sermon

King Duncan

A woman dialed the number of what she thought was the local record shop. A man answered. She asked, "Do you have 10 little fingers and 10 little toes in Alabama?" The man had no idea she was talking about a song. He said, "No, but I do have a wife and 15 kids in Louisiana." She asked, "Is that a record?" He said, "I don't know if it is a record or not, but it sure is above average." (1) One of the favorite devices of comedians is that of garbled communication. An Italian gentleman was trying to learn ...

1469. Running From God

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Every once in a while you run across a newspaper story that makes you think that the whole world is going bonkers. Here is one from a paper in Kentucky: A youth pastor was charged with calling in a bomb threat to a Western Kentucky church where he was scheduled to preach that night. The young pastor said he made the call on a Sunday evening because he was unprepared for the service that night. He told police he called 911 from the church about 6:30 p.m. CDT and told the dispatcher there was a bomb in the ...

1470. Connected

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

A newspaper reporter went to interview a successful entrepreneur. "How did you do it?" he asked. "How did you make all this money?" "I'm glad you asked," the entrepreneur replied. "Actually, it's a rather wonderful story. You see, when my wife and I married, we started out with a roof over our heads, some food in our pantry, and five cents between us. I took that nickel, went down to the grocery store, bought an apple, and shined it up. Then I sold it for ten cents." "What did you do then?" the reporter ...

1471. Finding Calm In The Storm

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

King Duncan

Did you know that the bathtub was invented in 1850? The telephone was invented in 1875. "Just think," someone said, "You could have sat in the bathtub for 25 years without the phone ringing." (1) It never fails, does it? Just when you think you will have some peace and quiet, the telephone rings, or the baby cries, or a water pipe breaks, or the boss calls you into her office. Peace is a precious commodity and it is so, so elusive. Dante, the great poet of the Renaissance, was exiled from his home in ...

1472. Follow that Dream

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

In 1872, at the age of 16, Booker T. Washington decided he wanted to go to school. For a boy, born a slave to a plantation cook in Virginia, who had no idea who his white father was, this was a huge step. He decided that he would enter the Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia. With nothing more than a small satchel of clothing, he started walking from Malden, West Virginia, 500 miles away. Eventually he made it to Richmond, about eighty miles from his destination. He worked there for a few days unloading ...

1473. He Is Risen!

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

Pastor Stephen Brown's brother Ron died suddenly of a coronary. In his forties, Ron was a popular public servant, a superb district attorney, a good father, and, Stephen's closest friend. Three or four weeks after Ron's death, while visiting their mother, Stephen went to the cemetery in the mountains where they had buried Ron. It was a cold, rainy, late winter afternoonthe kind of weather that chills your bones. When he got to the cemetery he couldn't find the place where Ron was buried. A stone had not ...

1474. What Are You Afraid Of?

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

"You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear," writes St. Paul, "but you have received the spirit of sonship." The question for the morning is this: What is it that you are afraid of? Our little friend Charlie Brown in the comic strip "Peanuts" knows about fear. "I've developed a new philosophy," he said. "I only dread one day at a time." In the play YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, Charlie Brown explains why he hates lunchtime: I think lunchtime is about the worst time of the day for ...

1475. It Makes No Difference Where You Belong

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

King Duncan

Religion has always been a rich vein for humorists to mine, particularly the differences between denominations. For example, two men were in an airplane and the plane developed engine trouble. It was clear that they were going to be killed. One said to the other, "Well, this is it. We are going to die. Are you religious?" The other one said, "No, are you?" The first one said, "No. I'm not either. We ought to do something religious, though, because we're going to be dead in a few seconds. Don't you remember ...

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