Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1501 to 1525 of 4943 results

1501. Terms Of Endearment

John 12:1-8

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

In his short story, “The Capital of the World,” Ernest Heming- way reported an event they talk about in Madrid. A young man named Francisco, lovingly called Paco by his parents, grew to be a teen at odds with his father. No matter how a day began, it was sure to end with angry words and heated arguments. Paco and his father became enemies living under the same roof. Finally the young man ran away, drifting eventually to the large metropolis of Madrid, where anyone could get lost and create a new identity. ...

1502. Taking The Good With The Bad

Job 1:1-5

Sermon

John A. Stroman

Once upon a time in the land of Uz there was a man whose name was Job. He was a man of sterling character who always sought to do the right thing. Above all he had respect for God and hated evil with a passion. His family consisted of seven sons and three daughters. God had blessed Job not only with a large family but he possessed seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and numerous servants who cared for his enormous amount of livestoc_esermonsk. He ...

1503. May I Take Your Order

John 6:1-15

Children's Sermon

Brett Blair

Exegetical Aim: Jesus as miracle worker. Props: Small flip notebooks or order pads along with pencils or crayons. There should be enough for all the children. Lesson: Good Morning! (response) Hand out the Pencils and Pads. I want you to look out at the congregation. Look at all the people out there. How many do you think there are? (response) That’s a lot! Look at them. Turn to a couple of the children. You see that look on their faces? We’ve got a problem. I think they’re all getting hungry. We have to ...

1504. The Rite of Remembrance

Luke 22:7-38

Sermon

Edward Chinn

[Jesus] took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." "We are what we remember," wrote Dr. Ernest T. Campbell, the late pastor of the Riverside Church in New York City. The word remember came from two Latin words: "re" (back, again) and "memor" (mindful). To remember is to call an event, person, or thing back to mind again. It is to reassemble the members of a past event. The act of remembering ...

1505. Come, Learn Your Worth

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Various Authors

Therefore, if any [are] in Christ, [they are] new creation[s]; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. (v. 17) John Bishop tells of a London slum child whose major refuge was his Roman Catholic day school. In the course of things, his school was visited by a physician who did medical examinations for the students. As the skinny little fellow left the doctor’s room, one of the nuns asked, "Well, Jimmy, what did the doctor say to you?" Jimmy answered, "He took one look at me and said, ‘What a ...

1506. YOU’VE GOT WHAT IT TAKES

Illustration

John H. Krahn

Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, wrote children’s stories which not only captured the imagination of the children but also bore a message. In one of his fantasies he tells of a lock that runs around continually searching for something. Finally a curious bystander asks, "What is the matter?" "I am seeking," says the lock, "for something to unlock me." How many of us are faced with the same dilemma as that of Lewis Carroll’s lock? Many times we go through life locked up in ourselves and in our ...

1507. Taking The Risk Out Of Dy(e)ing

Matthew 28:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

Not long ago a newspaper carried an unusual headline. It read, "Test Takes Risk Out of Dyeing." It was talking about dyeing hair. An expert on feminine beauty was being quoted. He said that a woman should make a test on one strand of her hair before dyeing all of it. That makes sense. But it was the headline that attracted my attention. "Test takes risk out of dyeing." (1) Another recent news report intrigued me even more. It was reported that archaeologists in the Holy Land had excavated the tomb of ...

1508. Wash Up First For The Meal Before You Eat!

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

"People just do not take the Lord's supper as seriously as they should. Perhaps it is the frequency with which we celebrate it. Too often we are merely going through the motions and not really getting out of it what we should. The problem is that we are not adequately prepared!" Oftentimes I run across Christians who think this way and even explain their feelings. I am not advocating these sentiments if they are taken as an argument against frequent celebration of the sacrament. We can never receive too ...

1509. Taking the Sting Out of Death

1 Chronicles 15:1-16:6

Sermon

Harold Warlick

One of the most lasting images in the New Testament is one from Saint Paul: O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? The early Christians asserted that Jesus has taken the sting out of death by demonstrating that it is but a doorway into another realm. Have you ever been badly stung? If so, you will recognize the importance of removing the pain and being surrounded by a group of fellow laborers, just like the Bible says. A minister relates the earliest memory from his childhood when he ...

1510. Don't Give Up - He Hears!

Luke 18:1-8

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of you will remember when Clyde Beatty was the most famous lion tamer in the world. While Beatty was performing with THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH he also operated a small circus that played during the off-season. This circus was stationed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and because of the very favorable climate from December through March, performed in the open air, without a big top. One day there was a heavy downpour and Beatty was forced to call off the show. Only one person had come to the box office to ...

1511. Some Healing Is Up To You

John 5:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There is a famous legend in Buddhist folklore in which the Buddha compared philosophical preoccupation with settling the matter of God’s existence to a man shot with a poisoned arrow. Before the man can allow the arrow to be withdrawn and the wound treated, he insisted upon knowing who shot him, what sort of poison was in the arrow, and what kind of medicine would be administered.. The man died before the questions were answered. Buddha concluded that in the same way, people need to be rescued from the ...

1512. It Takes Two

Illustration

Staff

The power of a successfully communicated thought, from one human mind to another, is one of the greatest forces we know. But like the tango, it takes two to communicate. You can communicate a thought, but your thought may not be understood. In some cases, your thought may not even reach the proper target. That's why it pays to ask questions to make certain that people understand what you are saying. The great movie maker, Cecil B. DeMille would agree. DeMille was making one of his great epic movies. He had ...

1513. How Soon Is "Soon"?

Sermon

Rolf E. Aaseng

But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will befalling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see "the Son of Man coming in clouds" with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know ...

1514. He Will Take Care of Us

Luke 21:18-19

Children's Sermon

Object: Some different kinds of hair; like blond, brown, black, red. Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever been afraid? Good, we have all been afraid at some time or another. Have you ever been so afraid that you felt like running away? (Let them answer.) I know what that feels like also. You think that if you run fast enough, you will be able to get away from whatever the bad thing is that is making you feel afraid. Let me ask you one more question. Have you ever been afraid of something ...

1515. Keep Things Flowing

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

Richard Patt

There was a beautiful lake that lost its zesty freshness. The water formerly had been clear. It was alluring to animals and people alike. But it became covered with a green scum. The farm animals became ill from drinking the water. Finally someone came by the lake who understood the problem. Debris collecting from the hard spring rains had stopped up the dam and prevented the free flow of water, not into the lake, but out of the lake. The spillway was cleared, and soon the lake was fresh and clean again. ...

1516. Nobody Owes You Anything

Luke 17:1-10

Sermon

Richard Patt

This is the kind of sermon topic that the preacher hesitates to advertise ahead of time. If people come to church to hear some good news, this topic doesn't sound too promising. But I ask you to brace yourself and stick with it. The words we consider here are from the lips of none other than a merciful and loving Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. His words often contained some hard truths, but they also finally reveal to us the marvelous, incredible goodness and love of God to you and me. So let's dare to ...

1517. Is He Really Coming?

Sermon

Rolf E. Aaseng

In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also (John 14:2-3). In the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!" (2 Peter ...

1518. The Boy Grows Up

1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26

Sermon

Mary S. Lautensleger

Each of us faces the choice of who and what we will become. Sometimes, we don't really know what we want to be when we grow up until we are forty-something. Our earliest models for making that choice are the people who raise and nurture us. Although we identify with the adults whom we admire most, each of us is unique and intended to become "our own person." Occasionally there is a family-owned business and we are expected to carry on in that tradition, or to choose the vocation of one of our parents. ...

1519. Get Up and Go

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

A primary Sunday school class invited their pastor to view their Christmas art work. On the bulletin board were posted pictures of the Holy Family at the manger, angels singing to shepherds in the field, and wise men bringing their gifts to the Christ child. One drawing, however, puzzled the pastor. It was a picture of the Holy Family boarding a jet plane with the pilot already in the cockpit. “Tell me about this picture," said the pastor. The little boy who drew it spoke up and said, “That is Mary and ...

1520. Working Your Way Up

Luke 10:1-24

Illustration

Alexander H. Wales

There is nothing like success to make you unsure of yourself. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to making a go of a project is the process of doing something so well that you never do anything else for fear of failure. If a writer makes it to the best-seller list the first time out, every novel to follow will be judged by the first. If a baseball player gets a home run the first time at bat, every time he comes up to the plate, the stands will be judging the performance in light of that first hit. If a movie ...

1521. Faces at a Funeral

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

During the nineteenth century, all Oxford graduates were required to translate a portion of the Greek New Testament aloud. Oscar Wilde was assigned this passage from the passion story of Jesus. His translation was fluent and accurate. Satisfied with his skill, the examiners told him he could stop. But he ignored them and continued to translate. Several times more they tried to call a halt to his reading. Finally he looked up and said, “Oh, do let me go on! I want to see how it ends!” We need to read this ...

1522. The World's Greatest Cover Up

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

"Catch Me If You Can" was the title of one of the big movies out a few years ago, starring two superstars, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. When Leonardo DiCaprio's con-man character Frank has to sneak out of the Miami airport while being watched by hundreds of FBI agents, he first sneaks in by attracting the maximum amount of attention. Instead of trying to move through the airport unobtrusively, Frank surrounds himself with a crowd of beautiful young women dressed as flight attendants. Every FBI agent ...

1523. Your Wake-up Call

Philippians 3:1-11

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the small luxuries that used to be available in most hotels was the personal wake-up call. Remember when the hotel clerk would ask you when you checked in, “Would you like a wake-up call?” Most major hotels offered this service. The next morning, right on time, you’d get a call from a real live person who woke you up with the words: “Good morning, (Mr. Jones or Miss Jones) this is your wake-up call.” And then you’d decide whether to go back to sleep or not. That task, like everything else, is now ...

1524. Whatever It Takes

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Sermon

King Duncan

Pastors are used to being the targets of jokes. It goes with the territory. A parishioner had undergone a serious operation and was still under the influence of the sedative when his pastor came, so the pastor just said a prayer and left. The next day he returned and asked the patient if he had been aware of his visit. “I vaguely remember your visit yesterday. I remember opening my eyes and thinking 'I can't be in Heaven because here is my pastor!" We are accustomed to being the targets of jokes and we are ...

1525. When You Are Up And Out

Luke 19:1-10

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

It’s been said of Jesus that whenever he met a person, it was as if that person were an island around which Jesus sailed, until he found where the real problem was and there he landed. He did that with the woman at the well and landed on the question of marriage. “Go call your husband,” Jesus said to her. He did that with the rich young ruler and landed on the question of money. “Go sell all of your possessions and give them to the poor,” He said to that man. He did that with Zacchaeus and landed on the ...

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