Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1551 to 1575 of 4508 results

Bulletin Aid

James Wilson

Call To Worship Leader: Come, all who are weary and worn and in need of the mercy of God! People: We are each one sinners who have fallen short of God's standard. Leader: Yet Christ came to redeem the lost and to bring forgiveness for sin. People: So what must we who have gone astray sacrifice to be forgiven? Leader: Lift your hearts together in faith! In Christ we are forgiven! All: Blessed be th...

1552. Proper 5

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Old Testament: Genesis 12:1-9 Yahweh calls Abraham to go to Canaan and promises to make of him a great nation. Today we learn how Jews and Christians came into existence through one man, Abraham. Yahweh commanded him to leave his family, friends, culture, and vocation to go to a strange land. With his barren wife, Sarah, and his nephew, Lot, Abraham obeys the command and accepts the pr...

1553. Proper 5

Sermon Aid

Liturgical Color: Green Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13 Theme: The call of Matthew - ministering to sinners, not the righteous. Pastoral Invitation to the Celebration Consider this: "Welcome to worship. How did you make the decision to come today? If it's true that God called the church into being, then it's also true that God calls the church into being each day, and each Sunday. Do you believe that Go...

1554. Proper 5

Bulletin Aid

Theme: God's medicine of mercy Exegetical note Jesus' association with the despised (here, tax collectors and sinners) and his pronouncements about the need of the sick for a physician and God's desire for mercy all direct the reader's attention to the point that God's interest is not in the self-righteous (who may also be termed "the supposedly-righteous"), but to those who need God's "medicine"...

1555. God's Medicine of Mercy

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Notes Jesus' association with the despised (here, tax collectors and sinners) and his pronouncements about the need of the sick for a physician and God's desire for mercy all direct the reader's attention to the point that God's interest is not in the self-righteous (who may also be termed "the supposedly-righteous"), but to those who need God's "medicine" of mercy to make them "well." Lit...

1556. Proper 5 & Pentecost 3

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The broad, eschatological framework of the church year provides the only clue to the theme for worship and preaching on the Third Sunday after Pentecost. God's promise to bless all those who keep his commandments continues to be announced by the biblical elements assigned to the propers of this Sunday. The Gospel for the Day illustrates, as part of its theme, one example of compl...

1557. Super Christian I

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: Well meaning Christians who are not hearing the call of the Lord clearly may do more harm than good and be super-Christians but not really follow God's leading. Summary: Super Christian, the righter of wrongs, makes a fatal error. He hears a call of distress but makes a quick judgment as to who is the wrong-doer. When asked to do some good himself he has a good excuse. Playing Time: 3 min...

1558. Jesus Calls Matthew, Jesus Heals The Leaders Daughter, Jesus

Drama

Dallas A. Brauninger

Suggestions: Use as an anthem. Characters: 6 readers - 2 women, young man, 3 older men Key: 1 = narrator 2 = Jesus 3 and 4 = Pharisees 5 = leader of the synagogue 6 = woman who hemorrhages 1: As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, 2: "Follow me." 1: And he got up and followed him. 1: And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax...

1559. The Church is God's Hospital

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Some doctor’s instruments - stethoscope, ear examiner, tongue depressor; you might even use a doctor if you have one who is a member to examine the childrens’ ears and throats or listen to their hearts Lesson: "But when he heard it, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.’ " Have you ever thought about Jesus as being a doctor? Did you know that h...

1560. The Doctor for Sin

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A thermometer, a heating pad, and a bad cough. Good morning, boys and girls. I brought a few things that I have been using this week to share with you. (Bring out the heating pad and thermometer.) I have had all of the aches and pains that a person can have and still be living. In addition to this I have been coughing. (Give them an example of your very best cough.) When I cough it hurts ...

1561. Ready For A Change

Sermon

King Duncan

Feeling edgy, a man took a hot bath. Just as he'd become comfortable, the doorbell rang. The man got out of the tub, put on his slippers and a large towel, wrapped his head in a smaller towel, and went to the door. A salesman wanted to know if he needed any brushes. Slamming the door, the man returned to the bath. The doorbell rang again. On went the slippers and towels, and the man started for t...

1562. An Unpopular Profession

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Matthew was a tax collector. He was probably stationed in Capernaum, an excellent spot for collecting excise from travelers and merchants, on the trade route between Ptolemais and Damascus. Now, tax collectors are not on the list of anyone’s favorite people at best, but in ancient Israel it was even worse. Tax collectors had little or no social standing. Their word was not accepted in a Jewish...

1563. A Call to Action

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Congress recently passed a law that seemed to fly under the radar screen. The law entitles any deceased U.S. veteran to have two uniformed military personal present to fold and present a flag, and to have “Taps” played on the bugle at the end of the service. Who could argue with such a simple honor? There is one little problem. There are very few bugle players around these days. This dearth of...

1564. Sick People Like Us Will Always Need The (Divine) Doctor

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

Jesus spent a lot of his time hanging around undesirable folks, not with "good" people like us. I mean here in today's gospel lesson we have the story of his calling Matthew, the tax collector (Matthew 9:9). Of course, most of us have our hang-ups with taxes. But in the eastern part of the Roman Empire in Jesus' day tax collectors were notorious for overcharging the taxed, often with harassment, a...

1565. Sinner to Saint

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. [Matthew 9:9] "You’ve come a long way, Baby" is an expression used by a popular cigarette commercial. You are shown a 19th century girl who is hiding her smoking with embarrassment. In contrast there is a 20th century girl openly, proudly smoking a c...

1566. A Taxing Encounter

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:8) Prop: Envelope…junk mail marked IMPORTANT You know those envelopes you get in the mail sometimes marked IMPORTANT! Here is one of them. You scramble to open it, thinking it’s a check or some important document that you need . . . only to find that it’s an ad to buy life insurance or something you don’t need! Yikes! Fooled aga...

1567. Proper 5, Pentecost 3, Ordinary Time 10

Bulletin Aid

Amy C. Schifrin

Confession And Absolution Leader: Gracious God, you call us to follow you into places that we would rather not go. You call us to follow you where healing is needed. You call us to follow you so that we might be made well. All: We confess our sins to you, trusting that your mercy was intended for us. Silence for self-examination Leader: In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, your fait...

1568. Proper 5

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter--Psalms 33:1-12 First Lesson--Abram is called out to begin a faith journey that will make of him and Sarai his wife a great nation to bring blessing to all nations favorable to them and their descendants. Genesis 12:1-9 Second Lesson--Paul explains how Abraham is deserving of the title father of the faithful. Romans 4:13-25 Gospel--Jesus is not fussy, like the Pharisees, about the...

1569. Proper 5

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The call. The book of Hosea is one long plea for the people to turn their hearts to God. The Genesis 12 text and the Second Lesson present the call of Abraham. The Gospel lifts up the call of Matthew, a tax collector regarded as a notorious sinner. When criticized for dining with sinners, Jesus responds: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Genesis 12:1-9 ...

1570. The Taxman

Illustration

Pastor Nelson

This weeks Gospel story reminded me of a song from many years ago that was written and sung by my favorite band: "Let me tell you how it will be, there's one for you, nineteen for me, cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman. Should five per cent appear too small be thankful I don't take it all, cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman. If you drive a car, I'll tax the street, if you try to sit...

1571. Leave It All Behind

Illustration

Billy D. Strayhorn

When John D. Rockefeller died, one man was curious about how much he left behind. Determined to find out, he set up an appointment with one of Rockefeller's highest aides and asked, "How much did Rockefeller leave behind?" The aide answered, "All of it." Jesus is reaching out to you just as sure as he was reaching out to all three of these people. What is it that you need to leave behind? What ...

1572. Enough for Action?

Illustration

Leonard Sweet

The United State's most read columnist, Thomas Friedman, likes to tell a story he got from Johns Hopkins University's foreign policy professor Michael Mandelbaum (in his book The Ideas That Conquered the World). A young girl is eating dinner at a friend's house. Her friend's mother asks if she likes brussels sprouts. "Yes, of course," the girl replied. "I like brussels sprouts." After the dinner,...

1573. When the Invitation Comes

Illustration

Larry Bethune

You never know where the invitation will come. Abraham was sitting at home. Moses was out in the wilderness. Isaiah was in a worship service. Matthew was at work. The woman caught in adultery was, well, caught in adultery and about to be stoned. I would call that a crisis, wouldn't you? But it doesn't matter where you are or in what situation; God will find you. As the psalmist suggests: Where ...

1574. Matthew’s Loss and Gain

Illustration

Brett Blair

When Matthew made the decision to follow Christ he lost a great deal but William Barclay recognizes what he gained. He says: He lost a comfortable job, but he found a destiny. He lost a good income, but he found honor. He lost a comfortable security, but he found an adventure the like of which he had never dreamed. It may be that if we accept the challenge of Christ, we shall find ourselves poore...

1575. Tax Collectors of the Roman World

Illustration

Brett Blair

In the days of Jesus tax collectors deserved the scorn of the people because often they abused their position. Here is how William Barclay describes the business of the tax collector in the Roman world: 'The problem of the Roman government was to devise a system whereby the taxes could be collected as efficiently and as cheaply as possible. They had done so by auctioning the right to collect taxe...

Showing 1551 to 1575 of 4508 results