Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1551 to 1575 of 4944 results

1551. Ready!

Mark 13:24-37

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Wait a minute. What is going on here? This is the first Sunday of Advent on the church calendar, and, more than that, it is almost Christmas. Thanksgiving is over along with “Black Friday.” The shops and malls are playing “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” and “Winter Wonderland,” everything is decorated to a fare thee well but we gather in church today and hear the gospel thundering about suffering and the sun being darkened, the moon without light and stars falling from the sky. Not long ago, my wife ...

1552. Don’t Fall Asleep

Luke 12:32-40

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Awake you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” (Ephesians 5:14) In 1908 Jack London wrote a short story, published in Century Magazine called “To Build a Fire.” In the story a man hikes the Yukon trail along with his dog in subzero temperatures despite urgent warnings about the dangers of the extreme cold by those in Sulphur Creek. Thinking he can light a fire whenever he wants if the cold gets too harsh, the man’s overconfidence and insistence on going it alone leads to a ...

1553. Acres of Diamonds

1 Timothy 6:10

Sermon

Russell Conwell

I am astonished that so many people should care to hear this story over again. Indeed, this lecture has become a study in psychology; it often breaks all rules of oratory, departs from the precepts of rhetoric, and yet remains the most popular of any lecture I have delivered in the fifty-seven years of my public life. I have sometimes studied for a year upon a lecture and made careful research, and then presented the lecture just once -- never delivered it again. I put too much work on it. But this had no ...

1554. Proper 12

Psalm 85:1-13, Colossians 2:6-23, Hosea 1:1-2:1, Luke 11:1-13

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

PERSISTENT PRAYING A special interest of Luke in both the Gospel and the Book of Acts is prayer. He frequently notes the prayer life of Jesus. Before every major crisis in his ministry Jesus spent time in prayer. The parables for today with their surrounding materials give an occasion for the preacher to deal with the whole subject of proper praying. It is an opportunity to deal with common misconceptions of prayer. It is also an opportunity to consider the whole discipline involved in praying. While Jesus ...

1555. The Agenda Factor

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

William L. Self

Architecture and power are Siamese twins joined at the hip. Rulers have always wanted to translate their power into brick and mortar -- from the tower of Babel and Egypt's pharaohs to Chairman Mao, Joseph Stalin, and Adolf Hitler. I. M. Pei, in his contract given by FranÁois Mitterand to renovate the Louvre, was commissioned to re-establish the glory of France. Serious resources have been committed by rulers to display their strength and grandeur with architecture. David had finally consolidated his ...

1556. Holy Week

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Monday Holy WeekIsaiah 42:1-7John 12:1-11 Following The Road All people have a vocation in life. Many times the word vocation is applied to priesthood and religious life alone, but this is far too limiting. All people have a vocation, a road that they will follow in life. Some people will follow the vocation to the single life; most will follow the call to married life and family. Some will follow the invitation to become religious and/or priests. Many people will be wives or husbands who work daily to ...

1557. Leave It On The Course

1 Timothy 3:1-16

Sermon

Robert R. Kopp

If someone does not know how to manage.... -- 1 Timothy 3:5 My son and I just joined Indian Guides. Sponsored by the YMCA, it encourages dads and sons to be "Pals Forever" by providing opportunities and activities that build character and deepen family relationships. We really like it! One of the first big events is announcing your Indian name. Daniel picked "Golden Eagle" for himself and "Bald Eagle" for me. At least he didn't name me "Water Buffalo Waistline." Of course, that's not as bad as those school ...

1558. On Sacrificing Others - Dramatic Monologue

Genesis 22:1-19

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Comment: To get an unusual angle on their story, storytellers sometimes take on the persona of someone in or close to the event they are describing. The following look at the story of Abraham's sacrifice of his son Isaac comes from a neighbor who lived in that region, a practitioner of religion and life as it was understood by the indigenous inhabitants. Dramatically, the pastor can read it out loud as if he were writing it, as I did. Or he can introduce it and let someone from the congregation read it. ...

1559. All Saints' Sunday

Jn 11:32-44 · Mt 5:1-12 · Isa 25:6-9 · Rev 7:9-17; 21:1-6 · Ps 24

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Isaiah 25:6-9 Through his prophet, the Lord promises to make a joyous feast for his people on Mt. Zion, replete with rich food and wine. God will remove the pall of gloom and sorrow by destroying death and personally wiping away the tears from the eyes of his people. Epistle: Revelation 21:1-6a John's vision of the new heaven and new earth, predicted by Isaiah (65:17; 66:22). The sea, symbolic of unrest and turbulence, is no more. The new Jerusalem descends from heaven, with all ...

1560. Proper 9

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10, Mark 6:1-13, 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: God gives us the authority to bring in his kingdom through our strengths and our weaknesses. COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 David first serves as king of Judah, with his capital at Hebron, for a period of seven years. The leaders of the northern tribes of Israel come to him at Hebron and they agree to make him king over the northern tribes. David's army captures the city of Jerusalem from its inhabitants and it becomes the capital of the united kingdom. David reigns as king of Israel ...

1561. Called in From Off-stage

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Sermon

Donald Zelle

The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." And Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me. "And the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me ...

1562. What's So Good About Feeling Bad?

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Joann Hary

The other day as I was sitting outside the pre-surgical room at the hospital with nothing much to do but wait, I opened one of the multitude of magazines there and saw this wonderful cartoon. There were two witches on brooms flying through the air. You know how we picture witches to look. Well, one looked pretty happy while the other was obviously very upset as she complained to the other, "I told you before we started out today that it was going to rain. But no, you wouldn't listen to me, you and your ...

1563. A Night of Farewell - Peter

Sermon

Ron Lavin

"Tonight we will forget all of this ungodly talk about death. Tonight is a happy time of remembering our heritage. Tonight we shall eat lamb, bitter herbs, wine and bread. It will be good to remember Moses and the journey tonight." "Tonight we are at John Mark's house. No one will find us here. No crowds. No Pharisees. No sick people." "Tonight we will celebrate the Passover." These were my thoughts as we began that Thursday evening meal. Jesus began with prayer: "Blessed art Thou, O Lord God of the ...

1564. The Godness Of God

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Ex-Senator Sam Ervin tells about a man known as the most ignorant man of Burke County, North Carolina. When he was asked if he knew what county he lived in, he said, "Nope." Did he know the name of his state? "Nope." Then he was asked whether he had ever heard of Jesus Christ. "No," he answered. Finally, in desperation, they asked him if he had ever heard of God. "I believe I have," he replied "Is his last name Damn?" This might be considered a very unusual case, but this is just about all that many know ...

1565. Proper 28

Lk 21:5-19 · 2 Thes 3:6-13 · Mal 3:19-20, 4:1-6

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Malachi 4:1-6 For the wicked the coming Day of the Lord will be doom but for the righteous there will be healing and joy. The writer of Malachi is unknown. The name means "my messenger." Scholars believe he wrote in the latter part of the fifth century, the post-exilic period. Malachi contains the only reference in the Old Testament to the forerunner of the Day of the Lord, Elijah. In verses 1-3, we are told that the coming Day of the Lord will solve all of Israel's moral and religious problems ...

1566. Epiphany 7

Matthew 5:43-48, Matthew 5:38-42, 1 Corinthians 3:1-23, Leviticus 19:1-37

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE As the Epiphany season nears its conclusion, the homiletical framework of the season con-tinues to thin out and the role of the readings becomes more important for the establishment of the theme for the day. Under the older church year, this would be Sexagesima Sunday, the second of the "three-to-get-ready for Lent" Sundays. They were removed from the church year's "Pre-Lent" and added to Epiphany simply because they had become part of Lent, making Lent, in effect, nine and a half weeks ...

1567. Welcome to the Training Table!

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Much of the business of the human race has been conducted over the dinner table. There are several reasons for that. One of them is convenience: In the harried pace of life - and it was so in ancient times as often as it is today - mealtime, which everybody had to take time for anyway, became as convenient a time as any to communicate, to take care of things, to check signals, and generally to keep in touch. In fact, many families only see each other when they’re eating and, at that, often only at certain ...

1568. We Are Driven!

Jeremiah 20:7-18

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived; thou art stronger than I, and thou hast prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; every one mocks me. For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, "Violence and destruction!" For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. If I say, "I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name," there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. For I hear ...

1569. Elijah’s If

Mark 9:2-13, 2 Kings 2:1-18

Drama

Richard F. Bansemer

A quotation from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament make up our sermon texts for today. From 2 Kings, the second chapter, the 10th verse, we find Elijah saying to Elisha: "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if you do not see me, it shall not be so." From Mark 9, the 7th terse, we read: "... a voice came out from the cloud, ‘This is my beloved Son; listen to him.’ " While the Old Testament lesson was read today we heard a ...

1570. Herod and Jesus

Drama

Jon Joyce

Setting The private sitting room in the palace in which Herod is staying in Jerusalem. A throne-like chair, perhaps with a gold or violet throw covering it, should be provided for Herod; this chair should face the audience. A simple chair or stool should be placed in front of the chair so that Jesus, when he sits down, may face Herod but not the audience. Other appointments to the room may be added for effect: potted palms, a small table with a wine carafe and fresh fruits, and anything else appropriate to ...

1571. The Mystery of His Presence

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Richard Patt

"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" (v. 52, TEV) In these times of world hunger, when many even within our own prosperous land find it difficult to put food on the table, we ought to be careful when complaining about our daily bread. But some of the "come-ons" that so-called quality restaurants advertise these days can irk any of us. The other evening my wife and I visited a local restaurant that had an attractive advertisement, claiming the "best of everything" in town. The meals were offered for ...

1572. At The Potter's House

Jeremiah 18:1--19:15

Sermon

John W. Wurster

(Note: This monologue is from the point of view of an imagined contemporary of Jeremiah.) I was down at the potter’s house yesterday. Have you been recently? I haven’t see you there. In fact, I haven’t see many people there at all recently. Nobody much comes to the potter’s house these days. It’s certainly not how it used to be when the potter’s house was a gathering point for the community. Well, you know how people would come just to watch the potter work with the clay. We would just stand there and ...

1573. Dealing with Depression

1 Kings 19:9-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

One of the reasons I love the Bible is that it is not afraid of the truth, even the sometimes sordid truth about its heroes. Abraham was a liar. Jacob was a thief. Moses had a murderous temper. King David was an adulterer. Heroes of the faith, everyone of them, but the Bible refuses to gloss over their shortcomings. It shows them "warts and all." We find another "wart" in our lesson from I Kings - one of the greatest of the prophets - Elijah. To briefly recount the background of the story, three years ...

1574. Do You Hear What I Hear?

Luke 1:46-56, Isaiah 61:1-11

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Years ago, a wise teacher of preachers advised us to prepare our sermons with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. His point was that sermons had to be relevant to the day-to-day lives of our people, and the best way to insure that would be to focus on what is going on in our people's world. Good advice, don't you think? So what has the newspaper (or the TV or radio or internet or whatever) had for us this week? Well, early on there was the story of the failed mission to Mars. After the ...

1575. 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 ...

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