Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1551 to 1575 of 2844 results

1551. Ascension Answers

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Ken Lentz

Many folks, especially preachers, don't know what to make of Luke's accounts (Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:1-11) of the ascension of Jesus. The other three gospels don't mention it and, frankly, the story seems a little too mythical for twenty-first-century readers. Educated people of the western world have discarded the three-tier cosmology. In the understanding of today's universe, it's not possible to know what is up and what is down. People looking up into the skies today might be looking at other beings on ...

1552. Reduced In Value

Illustration

Staff

Two theological students were walking along a street in the Whitechapel district of London, a section where old and used clothing is sold. "What a fitting illustration all this makes!" said one of the students as he pointed to a suit of clothes hanging on a rack by a window. A sign on it read: SLIGHTLY SOILED GREATLY REDUCED IN PRICE. "That's it exactly," he continued. "We get soiled by gazing at a vulgar picture, reading a course book, or allowing ourselves a little indulgence in dishonest or lustful ...

1553. The 4 Spiritual Flaws

John 6:1-15

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Want to attract young, floundering, post-high school people to a life of faith, fulfillment, and commitment? Would your first thought be to offer that age group a solid set of "divine directives" aka "Four Spiritual Laws?" Probably not. Unless you were Bill Bright in 1952, when he offered that gleaming, golden nugget of insight to a new generation of spiritual seekers. But the "laws" Bill Bright proposed were far from rude and reactionary. Instead they were redeeming and revealing. And they have touched ...

1554. Screaming at the Television

Ephesians 4:17--5:21

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever been so angry that it caused you to do something really stupid? I mean, really stupid! One guy said he saw two men literally pummeling each other over a parking spot. Both cars had nosed into this particular parking spot. Fortunately they stopped just before colliding. Now the owners of both cars were violently swinging at one another. What amused the man observing these fisticuffs was a sign over the intended parking spot. It said . . . you guessed it . . . “No parking.” (1) I wonder if the ...

1555. Simple Enough?

John 13:31-35

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

In the fall of 1862, the United States was reeling from one defeat after another at the hands of the Confederate Army under the leadership of General Robert E. Lee. European powers such as England and France were anxious to recognize the Confederacy, in part to discomfit the upstart United States and partly to be able to traffic in the coveted cotton needed by their textile mills. General George McClellan of the Union, having amassed an enormous army, convinced himself over and over that Lee's forces were ...

1556. Getting Directions

Acts 16:9-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

We have been living on borrowed time. In the over 3,100 years of recorded world history, the world has only been at peace 8% of the time or a total of 286 years, and 8,000 treaties have been made and broken. On any given day, soldiers are firing in thirty to forty nations. Wars of liberation. Territorial disputes. Religious principles. "One man's freedom fighter is another's terrorist," the saying goes, but the common denominator is death. Day in and day out. I wonder if the apostle Paul ever felt that way ...

1557. Year-Round Christmas

1 Kings 17:1-24

Sermon

David E. Leininger

"When elephants fight, the grass suffers." So goes an old African proverb.[1] The elephants in question here, Yahweh and Baal — gods competing for a nation's allegiance with the original weapons of mass destruction. Drought and disaster, the grass, this widow and her son, were caught in this cosmic struggle between fertility and famine. We meet one of faith's greatest heroes as this story begins. With Elijah there is no question whose side he is on; his name means Yahweh is my God. He gets no introduction ...

1558. Lent 4

Joshua 5:9-12, Psalm 32:1-11, Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Bulletin Aid

Julia Ross Strope

Call To Worship Leader: It’s Sunday again! We’re here in this sanctuary together! God, the Great Mystery is here, in and around us. People: We revel in the signs of spring, knowing that God is still creating! We delight in this place of beauty and in the company of friends. Leader: This day, like all days, is holy. People: We praise God for freedoms, for pardon, and for hope that tomorrow is in God’s hands and that we are being guided through time to eternity with Divinity. Leader: The scriptures say that ...

1559. L4G Live For God

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The front of local markets have been crammed full of candy for the past two weeks. [Get someone to take pictures of your specific local markets.] Halloween “Trick or Treat” might not be until the end of this month. But candy creators want us to stock-up and stock-pile. As a kid it was such a rush to come home after “making the rounds” of the trick-or-treat neighborhood and ceremoniously dump out all that candy crammed into our paper bag. Every piece would be inspected. Perhaps some cautious trades made ...

1560. Learning the Recipe for Love

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

In ancient times, a king decided to find and honor the greatest person among his subjects. A man of wealth and property was singled out. Another was praised for his healing powers and a third for his wisdom and knowledge of the law. Still another was lauded for his business acumen. Many other successful people were brought to the palace, and it became evident that the task of choosing the greatest would be difficult. Finally the last candidate stood before the king. This woman had white hair and her eyes ...

1561. Learning the Recipe for Love

Colossians 3:12-17

Sermon

Richard Gribble

1562. But When God ...

Galatians 1:11-24

Sermon

April Yamasaki

In the early Christian church, there were no pulpits. It wasn't until the Middle Ages that pulpits were first introduced in churches and not until the Protestant Reformation of the 1500s and 1600s that the pulpit became a central symbol for the authority of scripture and the preaching of the word. But it hasn't always been that way. Instead, the very first Christian churches were house churches, where there were no pulpits, and everything was done face-to-face without a piece of furniture in between. The ...

1563. Profile Of A Savior

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Sermon

David J. Kalas

In the century and a half that cameras have been around, photographers have done us the great favor of capturing moments. Previously, artists could endeavor to recreate great moments on canvas, in wood, or in stone. Photography, however, enables us to capture the actual instant, and to show us certain individuals at significant and telling moments. In 1945, Alfred Eisenstaedt photographed the celebration of VJ Day in Times Square in New York City. With his camera, he captured the sight of a sailor ...

1564. A Baby Changes Everything

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Never leave dry dog food or cat food outside overnight. If you do, chances are that sooner or later something other than your furry family member will amble up to help themselves. One of the most startling creatures to belly-up to the kibble buffet is the opossum. ‘Possums aren’t particularly dangerous to humans (unless they are rabid). But they have mastered the art of looking scary. Flick on the porch light and catch a possum snout down in the dog’s bowl and you will be rewarded with glowing red eyes, ...

1565. Matthew 2:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

A lifetime of bathrobe dramas known as “Christmas pageants” not to mention outdoor “living nativities” (one put on by teenagers witnessed Mary and one of the Wise Men furtively holding hands on their breaks – one can only wonder what the drive-bys and passer-bys thought) have willy-nilly shaped our pictures of the events surrounding Jesus’ birth. It may seem, at times, that our Christmas “remembrance” is more shaped by culture than the actual scriptures themselves. In our mind’s eye we see Mary and Joseph ...

1566. Prayer-Conditioning Your Life

Luke 2:29-32

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Today is a national day of prayer. Okay, not “officially.” Not sanctioned by any denomination or government decree. But there will still be more prayers hurtled heavenward today than on any other given Sunday. Yes, it is Superbowl Sunday — and there are prayers going up for that favorite team by player, family members, coaches, investment brokers, and, of course, fans, all over this country. And, like the pizza-hawker “Papa John’s,” who promised a free pizza to anyone who correctly calls the “head or tails ...

1567. A New Kind of Authority

Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

King Duncan

Former President George H. W. Bush, the elder Bush, was speaking to an appreciative audience some years back, immediately after leaving office. He explained what it was like to go from being Vice President for eight years and President for four years, to being a private citizen. “The first day I woke up,” he said, “I reached over to push the button to get somebody to bring me some coffee, but there was no button, and there was nobody to bring any coffee.” Then he added, “Barbara said, ‘Get out of bed and ...

1568. Wake Up Call

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

Advent always seems out of place with everything else that is going on around us. While people are rushing toward Christmas in a shopping frenzy our observance is markedly different. Sometimes we get so lost in the sentiment and traditions of Christmas that we have difficulty connecting with the themes of Advent. Advent is about waiting expectantly while longing for God to act. However, we must admit that we grow impatient and demand immediate satisfaction. The first Sunday of Advent finds us not dreaming ...

1569. Signed, Sealed, and Delivered

Ephesians 1:1-14

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

Praise God for all the wonderful things God has done in our lives and in our world! We continue to be filled with awe and wonder. Our fitting response is to sing praises to our God. Our favorite praise hymns and songs can transport us beyond our present situation into the very presence of God. The early Christians experienced the presence of God through their worship and singing. It is commonly believed that the first chapter of Ephesians contains words and phrases from hymns and liturgy that would have ...

1570. Thanksgivings to Remember

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Sermon

Argile Smith

Joan sat on the sofa reflecting on the Thanksgiving Day holiday that she and her children had enjoyed together. Her children and their spouses seemed to enjoy the meal she had prepared, and she couldn’t have been happier in the kitchen with them stirring around in the living room and helping out in the kitchen. Most of all, she delighted in having all of her family at home and at her dinner table one more time. Even though her grandchildren seemed to be a little fidgety at times, she was grateful they sat ...

1571. The Lifesaver App

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

As children we all had to study for and take “vocabulary tests” — learning a new list of words, their spelling and definitions, every week. As we continued on in school, read more books and studied more subjects, our vocabulary naturally expanded. Then to get into college, we took SATs (Scholastic Aptitude Tests), some of the most important of which are called “Vocab Tests.” Building up our word bank is a never completed project. Best-selling author Bill O’Reilly even has a vocab test every night on his #1 ...

1572. Looking for Ducklings: Kissing the Sidewalk

Acts 7:54--8:1a

Sermon

Tony Everett

Poor Daryl. One moment he was enjoying a beautiful springtime walk looking for ducklings along a lakeside nature trail. The next moment he was lying face down on the sidewalk, wondering where all the blood came from. As he was struggling to his feet a park ranger rushed over with a towel and first aid kit. After cleaning blood from Daryl’s face and making sure that Daryl was not seriously injured, the ranger said, “I noticed that when you tripped you were looking out at the lake instead of at the path. ...

1573. Is the Lord Among Us or Not?

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Tony Everett

When most folks first come to seminary they enter with very high expectations of participating in a grand and glorious spiritual high. No doubts. No despair. Just higher and higher peaks of power and wonder. No valleys. No problems. Life together should be like belonging to a fabulous family filled with good feelings. No murmuring. No quarreling. Just happiness. Most students and their accompanying families have left behind real jobs that paid real money. They have left homes, friends, and relatives. They ...

1574. Here's Mud in Your Eye

John 9:1-12

Sermon

King Duncan

There is much speculation on the Internet about the origin of the time-honored toast, “Here’s mud in your eye!” Google the sentence and you will find numerous explanations as to its origin. Some say it became common in the trenches of Word War I as mud was everywhere, and in everything, including the drinks. But we know it didn’t originate there. The phrase was being bandied about in U.S. saloons as early as 1890 and was popular with the English fox hunting crowd before then. Others contend it comes from ...

1575. The Nano-Punch of Pentecost

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The soul has its seasons. “There is a time to be born, a time to die.” The Bible has its seasons. The biblical New Year begins at the appearance of the first "new moon" of spring, when nature comes to life. The West has its seasons. The New Year begins in the depths of the winter, which is often when the new comes, in the midst of winter, the soul most often coming to life in the wintry seasons of life. The church has its seasons. In the church our “seasons” are not determined by climate changes or a ...

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