Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1526 to 1550 of 2844 results

1526. The Reluctant Prophet

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Chapter three and half of Chapter four of Exodus is the story of the burning bush. This episode is central to the Exodus story, but we can get too preoccupied with the burning bush. Some would even want to debate the kind of bush it was. But that misses the point. As someone has well said: “When God decides to make His appearance to man, any old bush will do.” We are staying with the story of the burning bush again today as we continue our preaching journey through Exodus. In my last sermon I talked about ...

1527. The Blood Shall Be a Token

Exodus 12:1-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Bible students and teachers have always connected the Old and the New Testaments by using types. That is, seeing in the Old Testament a type of what really is fully revealed in the New. This began with those who wrote the New Testament. Paul saw Jesus as the new Adam. Matthew saw him as a Moses. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews interpreted the tabernacle of the Old Testament as a type for the ministry and mission of Jesus. When we began this preaching journey through Exodus, we talked about Exodus ...

1528. Fresh Every Morning - A Test

Exodus 16:1-36

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Albert Camus, distinguished French author, once described a fellow-writer who kept searching for the right word. Because he could never find it, he was last seen sitting motionless before a blank piece of paper. I feel like that sometime in my sermon preparation - sitting motionless before a blank piece of paper. What I want to communicate is so important, I must not fail. I feel the powerful impact of the scripture. The truth of it is so crucial, and I’m so committed to being faithful in preaching God’s ...

1529. Opening and Closing Doors

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Many years ago, Dr. James Fisher, a practicing psychiatrist, wrote a very entertaining little book entitled A FEW BUTTONS MISSING . It was a light treatment of some of his experiences in psychiatric practice. However, near the end of the book, Dr. Fisher became very serious. This is what he said. “What was needed, I felt sure, was some new and enlightened recipe for living a sane and satisfying life — a recipe compounded from all the accumulated scientific knowledge acquired through study and research. I ...

1530. Proper 4

Lk 7:1-10 · Gal 1:1-10 · 1 Ki 8:22-23, 41-43 · Ps 96

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 41-43 At the dedication of the temple Solomon prays that Yahweh will hear the prayers of foreigners. Hearing of the glory of God and the splendor of Solomon's temple, non-Jews come from distant places such as the Queen of Sheba from Ethiopia and Naaman from Syria to pray in the temple at Jerusalem. The temple made provision for Gentiles to worship in a court of nations located in the outer precincts of the temple. Solomon prays that Yahweh will hear the prayers of ...

1531. The Shared Life of the People of God, Part 2

Galatians 6:1-10

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The letter was written from The Broadmoor, one of America’s premier hotels out in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Yet, the writer lived in Indiana. Perhaps, being on vacation, relaxed and reflective, the man wanted to express himself. He did, and I share a portion of his letter with you. “Dear Dr. Dunnam, A little more than two years ago, out of sheer desperation, I began a spiritual journey that has transformed my life. Some of your work at The Upper Room, especially “The Workbook of Living Prayer” and “The ...

1532. John the Baptist: Parable and Prophet

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

The other day I received a very flattering and enticing letter, offering me what was called a “highly valued” membership in a very select group. Let me share with you a part of that letter. Dear Dr. Dunnam: I believe you’ve earned this privilege. You’ve worked hard and have been recognized for your efforts. Now it’s time for you to carry the card that symbolizes your achievements - the Gold Card. Only a select group of people will ever carry the Gold Card. So it instantly identifies you as someone special ...

1533. Hearing the Questions of Children

Genesis 22:1-14

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

David Harju, a senior at Centennial High School, took the SAT test and scored a perfect 1600 on it this Spring. How did David feel about it? “Ecstatic,” said Tennessean staff writer, Barbara Moore.[1] The Old Testament story we step into today is the life and death test of one man’s faith and obedience. Father Abraham feels directed by God to sacrifice his only son as an act of worship on Mt. Moriah. Suddenly, this boy who has brought laughter to a couple in their elder years, is surrounded by a trail of ...

1534. The Darkness Before the Dawn

John 13:18-30, John 13:31-38

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Cartoonist Charles Schultz charmed the world for years with his cartoons. His gospel according to Peanuts includes a character by the name of Snoopy who longs to be a writer. Snoopy begins every story he writes with those familiar words, “It was a dark and stormy night." Maundy Thursday, so long ago, was a dark and stormy night. The Bible says in John 13:30, “After receiving the bread, Judas went out and it was night." If there was no storm in the sky there certainly was a storm in the souls of the ...

1535. Diving Deeper

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Did you hear the story about the toddler who fell out of bed one night? Hearing the fall, the father rushed to the room, picked up the kid, dried his tears, and put him back to bed. When things calmed down a bit, the Dad asked his son, “What happened, what caused you to fall out of bed?” Still sobbing, the toddler said, “I don’t know, I guess I went to sleep too close to where I got in.” Living on the edge is a problem, not just for toddlers, but Christians, as well. Some of us have stepped into the kiddie ...

1536. Luke 9:51-62

Luke 9:51-56

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

During the summer, do you go on “road trips” or “destination vacations?” With the cost of gasoline so high, and the construction-congestions choking our interstates, most of us opt for the get-there-as-fast-as-possible vacation. Going round-about on the blue-highways, winding and wandering from one location to the next, making the journey as much a part of the experience as the destination — that is a real “road trip.” Today’s gospel text marks the beginning of Jesus’ “road trip” to Jerusalem. The Galilean ...

1537. The Power to Look Up

Luke 24:44-53

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

He lived in a shack on the edge of town. He wore overalls to church before casual dress was cool. He didn't own a car; he didn't have job. As a sixteen-year-old kid, fresh from the courthouse with my driver's license, it became my privilege to drive Porter home from church on Sunday. I would pull into Porter's driveway. He would get out of the car and then as if it were an afterthought, although he never failed to do it, Porter would peek back into the car and say, “Keep looking up, Bubby, keep looking up ...

1538. Luke 11:1-13

Luke 11:1-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

Why is it . . . You’re on vacation in a brand new place . . . You go out to dinner at a brand new restaurant . . . You’re facing a brand new set of dining options . . . Yet you already know how the plates will look when they come to your table. Dad will have some kind of steak. Mom always goes for something with salsa. The kids cruise the menu for the latest incarnation of chicken strips or burgers. Faced with a completely new situation, we instinctively try to make it as familiar as possible. That’s why ...

1539. If Your Sense of Purpose Ever Becomes a Burden, Remember Your Value

Matthew 10:40-42

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

Do you ever wish you counted for something, that you had value? All the talk about purpose in church circles these days tries to respond to the natural human desire to count for something, to be somebody. But I worry about that way of thinking. If your value is all about your purpose in life, what if you fail? Are you then without any value? Today's gospel lesson is Jesus' final words of instruction to his disciples, as he commissioned them to undertake their mission and continued instructing them about ...

1540. The Holy Way

Isaiah 35:1-10

Sermon

Tony Everett

Our text centers on God's promised action in the wilderness. Have you ever seen photographs of the wilderness areas in the land of the Bible; for example today's Israel, Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Iran? The wilderness is a rocky, dry, and barren space. In the same day, temperatures may vary from a blazing 100 degrees Fahrenheit to nearly freezing. Food and water are scarce. Wild beasts and even bandits prowl around seeking to devour unsuspecting travelers. The wilderness can be a very scary and lonely space. ...

1541. Not All of This Is Me

Deuteronomy 8:7-18

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

It was certainly a treat for four-year-old Tara to go shopping with her grandfather one day at the mall. Tara had many things to tell her grandfather as they went from store to store. At one point, as Tara was high upon her grandfather's shoulders, a family friend stopped to talk with them. "My, you are getting to be such a big girl," the friend remarked. With the innocence that only a child can muster she replied, "Not all of this is me!" Sometimes children are our greatest teachers without even knowing ...

1542. The Ordinary in God’s Hands

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Sermon

David O. Bales

The apostle Paul writes to a church where he was the founding pastor. He speaks to a jumble of their moral and spiritual problems. To this diverse group of Christians in this cosmopolitan city, he first reminds them of the state in which Christ's good news came to them: "Consider your own call, brothers and sisters, not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world ...

1543. Power Sharing

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

David O. Bales

Modern people are fascinated with power. We fiddle with a switch on the wall and it delivers the results from dynamos in dams and atomic reactors. We domesticate nature's powers in order to light the den, vacuum the carpet, and brew the coffee. Power is at our fingertips. Technology has opened endless possibilities, chugging along from wood and coal fired steam, converting to petroleum, accelerating to internal combustion engines, and expanding to jets and rockets. We, this living generation, have most ...

1544. Righteous!

Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-31

Sermon

Steven E. Albertin

Perhaps some of you are old enough to remember one of the most popular musical groups of the mid 1960s, The Righteous Brothers. Remember "Unchained Melody"? I remember once hearing an interview with one of the Righteous Brothers, Bill Medley, when he described the significance of their name. Normally when we think of the word "righteous," we think of impeccable behavior and sterling moral character. But their name was not so much about their morality as it was about the quality of their music. In the '60s ...

1545. God’s Doing

Philippians 1:21-30

Sermon

Larry Lange

Don had not worked like a dog for nothing. He had struggled up the corporate ladder to one rung below the vice-presidents —who were all brothers. So Don knew he wasn't going any higher on the ladder. That was okay with him. They had treated him like family. He had earned a six-figure salary and eight weeks of vacation and had 10,000 frequent flyer miles to play with. Then leukemia drove his wife, Donna, into the hospital where they shoved needles into her and pumped her full of chemicals and new bone ...

1546. The Earth Is the Lord’s ... And Don’t You Forget It!

Psalm 24:1

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Of course, we do forget it ... regularly. In 1962, Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring,[1] caught the nation's attention as it pointed out what was happening to the environment by our continued use of DDT and other pesticides. The following year, President Kennedy and Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson led a cross-country tour to further highlight the environmental crisis. Speech after speech warned that air and water pollution, species extinction, and pesticide poisoning were threats to our nation's future ...

1547. Due for Renewal

Mark 2:13-22

Sermon

Robert J. Elder

Every pastor, on occasion, feels the need to remind a congregation that we need not fear things that are new. Indeed, the apostle Paul declared that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation ... things that are new ought to be things in which we feel free to take part. Once, the chair of a denominational committee on worship, when speaking of new things and strong opposition to them by congregations, shared a story about a friend of his in ministry. This pastor wanted his congregation to recite the ...

1548. King Me!

John 18:33-37

Sermon

Several years ago, and in another congregation, I preached a sermon titled "Chutes and Ladders and the Kingdom of God." It was based upon a game we played countless times when our children were small, so as a family, it was great! But looking at that game as a preacher — as a theologian trying to proclaim good news to a hurting world — I came to recognize that "Chutes and Ladders" held a terrible theology. I would be the first to admit that the point of the game is not to teach theology, but pastors are ...

1549. The Season of Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

Ash Wednesday is the day when we enter into an annual pilgrimage that takes us from the grave that none of us can escape to the surprising gift of an empty tomb that changes everything. No doubt some of you may have already entered into some sort of Lenten discipline, like increasing your Bible reading or, God forbid ... giving up chocolate. Before we travel too far on our Lenten journey, let's look for some guidance from the scriptures. The Lenten verse from Joel that we sing in our Lutheran liturgy ...

1550. Contemporary Prophets Speak the Truth

Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Dorothy Day, a woman who many people today believe to be a prototypical saint for twentieth-century society, was born on November 8, 1897, in Brooklyn, the eldest daughter of John Day, a roving newspaper sportswriter and his wife, Grace. Because of the nature of her father's work, the Day family moved often during Dorothy's youth. In 1906, the Days were living in Berkeley, California, when the great earthquake and subsequent fire destroyed a large portion of the city of San Francisco across the bay. The ...

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