Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1451 to 1475 of 4977 results

1451. Good Soldiers, Bad Wars

Joshua 11:1-23, Matthew 8:5-13

Sermon

Erskine White

... Remember that wherever the Old Testament seems to bless war, there is usually a little clue somewhere to make us stop and think and keep war in a more sober perspective. Here in Joshua, the clue is in the chariots. When the battle is over, God tells the Israelites ... : a rest from war. That's all we have today - a rest from war - because our patriotic bluster and our lack of real faith in God keep us blind to the paths of peace. God have mercy on us and on the souls of all the good soldiers who have died in bad ...

1452. When Christians Disappoint

Acts 5:1-11

Sermon

Erskine White

... entity we see in the world, but the church is also a spiritual entity which transcends the world, existing beyond time and place. She is promised the Spirit of her Risen Lord and this is what sustains her. This is what draws us to the church and keeps us here - the spiritual essence is Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. The truth is, if the church depended on the goodness and grace of Christians to survive, the church would have died out centuries ago! Perhaps we can remember that the next time we are ...

1453. Breaking Down Walls

Ephesians 2:14

Children's Sermon

... knock walls down? (Let them respond.) No, Jesus came to STOP fighting between people, not to start fighting. How does Jesus try to break walls? (Let them respond.) Jesus breaks down walls with love. When people love and try to understand each other, they don't need a wall to keep other people out. When they're friends, they both want to share. That's what Jesus came to do - to teach us to share and take care of each other. It's kind of hard to help each other with a big fence like this one (show Great Wall ...

1454. We Are God's Temple

1 Corinthians 6:19

Children's Sermon

... feel if people came in here and started arguing and yelling and fighting? I wouldn't like it if any of those things happened. The church is God's house. It is a special place for special things to happen and we shouldn't spoil it. That's why we keep it clean and try to behave the best way we know how when we are here. And sometimes we are very quiet here, because God wants us to be quiet and listen for him and think and pray. Did you know that our bodies are like the church building? (Talk ...

1455. It's Tempting

Mark 1:9-13

Children's Sermon

... the back yard or a vacant lot and we find something we didn't know was there. If nobody has their name on it, we can keep it for ourselves. Suppose you were walking down the street one day and you found this. (Show them the billfold.) And as you pick it up ... . Or we could look up this name in the phone book. Or we could take the wallet to the police station. It would be wrong to keep it without trying that first. But it would be tempting, wouldn't it! Jesus had a time like that. He was out in a wilderness for ...

1456. Changes

1 Corinthians 7:31

Children's Sermon

... world has changed since Paul was alive 2,000 years ago. We have airplanes and calculators and radio and television and computers and rockets. None of those things were around for Paul to use. They weren't even here 200 years ago. The world certainly is different and keeps changing every day just like this kaleidoscope does and just like you and I do. We change all the time. Sometimes it's hard to change; we'd like things to stay the same forever. And sometimes we can't wait to get older and we want things ...

1457. Let the Light In

1 John 1:7

Children's Sermon

... us to do that. And soon we forget to do the things that make our lives bright and good and turned toward God. Pretty soon we get selfish and narrow-minded and start to behave in all kinds of ugly ways. We adults do this too. If we forget to keep the light of Christ in our hearts, we forget to treat other people as part of God's special family. Remember our story last Sunday morning? [Lutheran: two Sundays ago.] We said that Jesus is like the sun. We see the sun come up in the morning and it reminds ...

1458. His Spirit Is With Us

John 19:30

Children's Sermon

... were a baby. They'll tell stories about how much you slept or how you never slept and how many bottles you drank or the time you spit up all over your new outfit. And they don't just tell the stories once, they keep on telling them over and over. When you grow up, they'll still keep on telling those same stories. Watch their eyes when they tell those stories. They might be all bright and excited. Or they might be all bright and shiny and look like they're going to cry. They look this way because they're ...

1459. Love that Grows

1 Thessalonians 3:12

Children's Sermon

... some days we do that pretty well. But some days we forget to pass God's love along. We get sort of selfish with God's love. We keep a red heart on us, but we don't pass any out to anybody else. This is where the brand new year can help us. In the ... make your love for one another and for all people grow more and more." We don't always remember to make our love for everybody else keep growing. We need to make a brand new start at doing that. And the best way to start is to remember that we already have a lot ...

1460. Advent 1

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

Sermon Aid

George Bass

... letter continues, to see them mature in love for all people as they await the "coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints." He expected that they wouldn't have a long wait, as we have, but Paul was positive that the Lord would return, thereby keeping his promise and initiating the fullness of the kingdom of God. That continues to be the hope of Christians in this modern age. The lection employed by the Episcopal Book Of Common Prayer picks up the last part of the previous reading and calls for an ethical ...

1461. Lent 2

Philippians 3:12-4:1, Jeremiah 26:1-24, Genesis 15:1-18, Luke 13:31-35, Psalm 27:1-14, Psalm 42:1-11

Sermon Aid

George Bass

... Easter (also, A), highlighting the "light" theme of the gospel and, especially, the passion motif ("For in the days of trouble he shall keep me safe in his shelter") which belongs to Holy Week. Psalm 42:1-7, 11-15 (L) - The Book Of Common Prayer appoints ... - God's." 1. God makes promises to his people; he has since the beginning of time, just as he did with Abram. 2. God always keeps his promises, just as he did with Abram, giving him a son and offspring and promising a land in which his people might live. 3 ...

1462. Lent 4

Luke 15:1-7, Joshua 5:1-12, Isaiah 12:1-6, 1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5, 2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2, Luke 15:11-32

Sermon Aid

George Bass

... and see that the Lord is good; happy are they who trust in him!" Psalm Prayer (Psalm 32 - LBW) "Lord God, you desired to keep from us your wrath and so did not spare your holy servant Jesus Christ, who was wounded for our sins. We are your prodigal ... saying, 'I can live with that.' " I wanted to give each of them this reading from St. Paul but my wife and I also wanted to "keep he door open," so I didn't. Some day ... And then they may see themselves for the Greeks they are, and just might work through all ...

1463. 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

... her not to hold on to him, but to go and tell his disciples that she had seen him. She found them and said, "I have seen the Lord." Interestingly, John does not mention their reaction to Mary's testimony. Luke 24:1-10 (E, L) In keeping with the Gospel of the Year principle of the new lectionaries, the Episcopal and Lutheran lectionaries select the Gospel for the Day from Luke. (The ORDO appoints this gospel for the Easter Vigil and the first eucharist, or the Paschal Liturgy, of Easter.) The reading makes ...

1464. Proper 11

Colossians 1:15-23, Luke 10:38-42, Genesis 18:16-33, Colossians 1:24--2:5, Psalm 15:1-5

Sermon Aid

George Bass

... almost 100 years old, promising the birth of a son to Sarah, replaced the reading from Proverbs. The pericope from Proverbs did have some relevance to the Luke 10 story of Mary and Martha, especially verse 33f: And now, my sons, listen to me;happy are those who keep my ways.Hear instruction and be wise,and do not neglect it.Happy is the man who listens to me,watching daily at my gates,waiting beside my doors.For he who finds me finds lifeand obtains favor from the Lord. Were I concerned about the harmony of ...

1465. Proper 27

Psalm 17:1-15, Psalm 9:1-20, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17, Zechariah 7:1-14, 1 Chronicles 29:10-20, Job 19:1-29, Luke 20:27-40

Sermon Aid

George Bass

... of those who take refuge at your right hand from those who rise up against them." Verse 8 sums up the psalmist's plea: "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me under the shadow of your wings, ..." Psalm 148 (L) - The spirit of true worship is ... up their dependence on God. 3. The king could torture and kill them, fry and roast them and put them in deep graves, but he couldn't keep them there. Their lives were in the hands of the only true God - "the King of the world will raise us up, since it is for his ...

1466. Advent 4

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon Aid

Wayne B. Keller

... Cotton Patch Version) Proclamation of the Good News Consider this:God comes to us in a variety of ways for a variety of reasons. In the beginning, we often respond, "I can't (followed by our favorite excuses)." God keeps coming until we either say "yes," or "no." If we say "no", God keeps coming, until we finally say "no" eternally. Compare our fears about saying "yes" with Mary's fear. Compare her "yes" finally with our need, in God's economy of time, to say "yes." Stewardship Try this: The Stewardship of ...

1467. Rocky

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

William J. Carl

... ’t need anybody else. “I can walk on the water all by myself, thank you very much,” and then sank like a rock because that’s what rocks do in the water, weighted down by their own self-centeredness. “I can wash my own feet, Jesus, so you can keep your towel to yourself.” “I can do it myself!” says the four-year-old and the first grader and the first day on the jobber and the elderly invalid. “I don’t need anybody else,” say so many in our time, “least of all God!” “I can make it ...

1468. Have You Accepted Jesus' Invitation?

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

George Johnson

... ." Or come to the altar here later this morning and pray that prayer. Declare a clear yes to the invitation. 2. Let go in order to come. There is a kind of natural resistance to this invitation. Attractive persuasions distract us, lure us away, hold us down. Our sins keep a strong hold on us. When Jesus invites us to come, he invites us to repent. That means to let go of our sins, let go of our excuses, let go of other allegiances, our pretending. Let go of trying to serve two masters. Come in honesty. Come ...

1469. Is It Too Late?

Matthew 25:14-30

Sermon

George Johnson

... what that means. Our connectedness to the earth needs to be reviewed, renewed and appreciated. We need to love the earth, remembering that God's redemption was for all creation, not just humans. The American Indians can help us in this area. Their spirituality keeps them connected to all creation. Also, we need to restore and broaden the meaning of the concept of the steward. If we are entrusted with one talent called creation, then what does that mean? What is our responsibility? Can we redeem the word ...

1470. A Pause That Refreshes

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Thomas Slavens

... credit accounts fatter. A flood of Yuletide parties will be hosted and attended. Gifts of all assortments will be purchased and wrapped. And yet Christians have the audacity to call this a season of refreshment. It can be a season of refreshment if those who keep it remember the purpose for having Advent: to celebrate that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” At the beginning of Advent, Christians are reminded that God has come to them and is with them in the fight of life. Prayer: All-loving God ...

1471. A Farewell Gift

John 14:15-31

Sermon

John M. Braaten

... word "goodbye" is bound to be spoken. It's a comforting thought really, because it is a shortened form of "God be with you." In fact the farewell in many languages express the same thing. "The Spanish, adios means 'to God' - meaning that our lives are in his keeping. And vaya con dios means 'go with God.' Benedictions at the close of our worship, are reminders that as we part from one another God goes with each one of us." Our gospel story this morning is also a time of parting. Jesus and the disciples are ...

1472. God Is Love

Sermon

C. David Godshall

... and sorrow. But those who have "waited on the Lord", meaning those who have patiently learned of God and looked for him in life, keep coming back to that which Jesus declared of him - God is love. Our constant problem is to realize that for love to be ... that kind of love that calls us to trust God. First, we need to trust God to care for _____________, now gone from us. We shall keep him in our memories, and know that God's love surrounds him still. Second, we need to trust God to care for us, and to bring ...

1473. African-American Spirituality: The African's Gift To America

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... to build our people up and strive to set standards of excellence, I received a card from an irate listener who castigated me for preaching racism over the air. All I did was say some positive things about our people and encourage them to keep looking up and lifting each other up by practicing Kwanzaa not just in December but every day during the year. This response totally misinterpreted what I said. But it corroborated something I knew already: that however positive you are in helping your people, there ...

1474. Fatal Subtraction

Acts 5:1-11

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

... to God, the Holy Spirit and Peter and the other apostles. When Peter asked him if he turned in all his earnings he said, "Yes," knowing he was lying. At that moment he was struck down and died because he lied to God - blasphemed the Holy Spirit by not keeping the promise he made to God when he joined the Church. His wife came shortly thereafter and she, too, was asked by Peter the same question. And she, too, was struck down by the Spirit and died because she lied about her earnings. Now this may seem to be ...

1475. Doing Our Homework

Matthew 9:9-13

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

... 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 present or the future, and those who want to keep things the way they always have been and are, forever and ever. Amen. It happens almost daily in our individual lives, often when we least expect it. There are, of course, those times when we intentionally try to incorporate the new into our lives ...

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