Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1626 to 1650 of 4946 results

1626. Where Does That Leave Us?

Mark 13:1-31, Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

Where does this Scripture leave us? Jesus compares the fig tree with the Day of Judgment. The fig tree’s leaves, sun s darkening, the moon giving no light, and the stars falling -- all are signs of the final day of the Lord. Then it is that the Son of man comes in clouds with great power and glory, and he sends out angels to gather in the elect. Many denominations spend a great deal of energy trying to figure out, “Is it the time yet?” Intense diligence goes into collating Scripture with wars and natural ...

1627. The Golden Gift

Drama

A Christmas play based on a scene from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo Program Notes Our play is based on an incident which comes early in one of Victor Hugo's greatest novels, Les Misérables - ("The Wretched Ones"). This book was published while Hugo was in exile in England in 1862. It was written as a social novel in which he made society itself the heavy in the piece. The novel was received with mixed reactions. One reviewer called it "his pernicious book." Another more charitably wrote: "It is ... the ...

1628. The Focus of Fitness

Jeremiah 18:1--19:15

Sermon

"Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your doings." (v. 11) Prayer: Lord, you have made it plain that you care what we do with our lives. You are pleased when we seek to do your will, and you grieve for us when we ignore it. Speak to us in this time of worship and enable us to re-discover the joy and the blessing of doing it your way. Amen Has there been a more popular pastime in recent years, than that of "getting in shape"? One magazine called it "America’s Health and Fitness ...

1629. Holy Tares!

Matthew 13:24-30

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the householder came and said, to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us ...

1630. Unwrapping Presents ... and People

Sermon

James Bjorge

A profusion of gifts stacked neatly under a green tree is one of the visions of Christmas. To young and old alike the fancy wrappings keep the real gifts hidden from the eyes of the would-be-beholders. If only the gifts could jump forth from the wrappings they would be free for us to enjoy! However that burst of freedom must wait until the signal is given; whether it be on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day morning. Then they are unwrapped, unbound, set loose. And what a grand time it is when that which is ...

1631. The Shadow Ascending

John 21:15-25

Sermon

Gregory J. Johanson

I. Denial by Any Other Name John 21:15ff GREG JOHANSON is a United Methodist minister who has brought to ten years of parish experience a special training and interest in Clinical Pastoral Education and Pastoral Counseling. He has worked in a variety of clinical settings, taught in a number of colleges, served recently as Chaplain and Director of Counseling Services at the Plaza Santa Maria Hospital, Ltd. in Baja, California, and led workshops as a certified trainer in Hakomi Therapy. He presently lives ...

1632. Following Orders

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

These are special days around St. Paul Presbyterian. Our 40th Birthday celebration continues. We had that delightful HOMELAND concert last night; we look forward to the BBQ/Talent Show on the 21st, then Jerry McCann's return to this pulpit on the 22nd. Good times. Times such as these provide an opportunity for celebration but they offer a good incentive for reflection, for creative dreaming as well, days that the church needs every so often if we understand ourselves as people with a mission. To my mind, ...

1633. The Nature of the Church and Christian Discipleship

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

In my convocation address I shared with you the fact that I am preoccupied these days with the nature of the church – and the nature of Christian discipleship. Maybe my preoccupation with the church is triggered by the struggles going on in my own denomination – the United Methodist Church. The truth of the matter is, these struggles are going on in all mainline churches. Schism is a threat – I struggle with questions like when or does a person ever have enough reason to leave the church of which he is a ...

1634. Let's Get Serious

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I confess that I have been struggling on how to approach this sermon this morning. We are coming into the season where we talk about stewardship and ask that you consider what your support to the Church will be in the next year. My instinct on these matters is always to be non-direct. But the gospel lesson for this morning, you heard it, makes it hard to do that. It is anything but non-direct. It is one of Jesus' shorter parables, just a few lines. It begins with the question, "What do you think? A man had ...

1635. Uncle Abraham

Romans 4:13-25

Sermon

William G. Carter

I have good news for you this morning. None of you are good enough to be here. Sorry about that. I thought I saw a few of you flinch. Maybe I need to be a bit more sensitive in how I begin. Let me try again. I have good news for you this morning: God is not impressed with a person in this room. By the look on some of your faces, I'm not sure that was any better way to start a sermon. Give me one more opportunity to get this sermon started. Here it goes. I have good news for you this morning: Every single ...

1636. The Gospel According to Winnie the Pooh

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Transition times. Life is full of them . . . times of transition. As Eve allegedly said to Adam as they were leaving the Garden of Eden, “We are living in a time of great transition.” Transition times. No times are more filled with possibility and promise. No times are more filled with peril and despair. In transition times, everything is possible, and everything could fall flat and fail. Think about every time you started a new school. Think about the first time you moved out of your parent’s home. Think ...

1637. The Agony of Defeat

2 Samuel 11-12, 1 Kings 15:5

Sermon

James Merritt

He was elected on his first try as a United States Congressman. He was elected on his first try as a United States Senator. At 39, he became one of the youngest men elected as Vice President of the United States. He went on to be elected as President of the United States, and then re-elected in the third largest landslide in U. S. history. But that is not how you remember him. I can say just one word, and everyone now, and probably for centuries, will know instantly who is being spoken of. The word is ...

1638. A Certain Word in an Uncertain World

1 Chronicles 29:1-9

Sermon

James Merritt

I want to put two famous quotations side by side and see which one you think is closest to the truth. Here is the first one. "There is no such thing as a sure thing." Now that would probably capture the sentiment of most people around the world as in the year 2004. 9/11 and terrorism around the world has changed everything. Security on New Year's Eve this last year was unprecedented. International flights were cancelled for the first time in the history of airlines over terroristic threats. One train of ...

1639. What Do I Do When The Load Is Too Heavy?

Exodus 18:13-27

Sermon

James Merritt

I had just been elected the President of the Southern Baptist Convention about two months before and already I was having trouble sleeping. I was waking up many times at 3:30am and 4:00am in the morning. Why? I might have up to ninety-plus emails to respond to, a mountain of correspondence that I had to answer and you never knew when the media was going to come calling. I had agreed to travel all over the world to visit the fourteen different regions where we had missionaries. I had to prepare two messages ...

1640. The Dark Side Confronted

Hebrews 12:5-11

Sermon

James Merritt

As we left our story last week, the Emperor and Darth Vader had devised a plan to turn the young Jedi, Luke Skywalker, to the Dark Side. While we were gone, Darth Vader revealed his true identity as Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker. Luke has now been captured and is ready to face Darth Vader, not just as his enemy, but also as his Father. We have been in a series of messages called "The Dark Side". I remind you again that what Star Wars calls "The Dark Side" the Bible calls "sin". There really is a dark ...

1641. Jesus: The Promise Received

Luke 2:10-14

Sermon

James Merritt

Jessica was four years old and she had had a perfect Christmas. She got all the presents she wanted. Her cousins were with her to share the holidays. She had eaten her favorite food all day long and as her mother tucked her in for bed she looked up at her at smiled and said, "Mom, I sure hope Mary and Joseph have another baby next year." After Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph did go on to have several other babies. However, the first baby born to Mary was not one that they had. It was one that Mary had by ...

1642. Anxiety Alert – The Fear of the Future

Matthew 6:34

Sermon

James Merritt

Ever since 9/11 we have instituted in this country the Homeland Security Advisory System. Though you haven't memorized it, I am sure you are familiar with it. It looks like this. [Put on Screen]. These levels are assigned based on information gathered by our intelligence agencies to help us be prepared for potential terror attacks in the future. Whether you know it or not, you use this same system every day of your life to chart your level of anxiety. Follow this scenario and chart your "anxiety alert ...

1643. One to Take the Place of Jesus

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Introduction to Scripture: In Chapters 14, 15, and 16 of John’s Gospel, there are telling and descriptive words of Jesus about the Holy Spirit. Since this is Pentecost Sunday, the occasion on our Christian calendar when we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church, I’m again leaping ahead in my preaching through this Gospel to consider these power-packed words of John concerning the nature and ministry of the Holy Spirit. In the Sermon, I’ll refer to a number of these words, but for ...

1644. Simon

Mark 15:21-32

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

It’s a common expression. When good fortune comes our way over which we have no control, about which we really did nothing, we say, “I was in the right place at the right time.” We hear it all the time about people who have made a lot of money, without a lot of effort: “He was in the right place at the right time.” We say a similar thing when the unwanted happens to us. “I was in the wrong place at the right time.” Some of us feel that’s the story of our life — being in the wrong place at the right time. ...

1645. The Kingdom for Which We Long

Matthew 13:31-35, Matthew 13:44-46, Matthew 13:47-52

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

We’ve a story to tell to the nations, That shall set their hearts to the right. A story of truth and mercy, A story of peace and light. For the darkness shall turn to dawning, And dawning to noonday bright. And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth, A kingdom of love and light. Do you believe that? We come to the second petition in the Lord’s Prayer this morning and it may take the greatest faith and the greatest imagination of all that we are taught to pray. So we pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be ...

1646. From Envy to Gratitude

Matthew 20:1-16

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

The sun is shining and the sky is clear. As landowner Joe consumes his breakfast he knows he must, likewise, seize the day. My daddy called it “Making hay while the sun shines." Joe might refer to it as “Making wine before the grapes rot." Whatever the phrase, the focus is the same. Harvest won't wait. Joes finishes breakfast, climbs into his pickup truck and drives down Nolensville Road where day laborers assemble looking for work. Well, the time and place may be different, but the story is the same. And ...

1647. The Road No One Wants to Travel

Matthew 16:21-28

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

Some time ago, I was riding a train through central England and a man boarded at one of the stops. As he looked for a seat, he saw my face and beamed at me with great joy. "Hi, Will!" he said brightly, in a wonderful British accent. Unfortunately, I'm not Will. When he sat next to me and I opened my mouth to protest his mistaken notion of who I was, my flat American English paved the way for his embarrassment. Obviously, I was not the person he expected. Nevertheless, we got along "brilliantly," as the ...

1648. Ruth and Boaz on the Threshing Floor

Ruth 3:1-18

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

Naomi’s Strategy: Naomi is Ruth’s mother-in-law (khamot, 2:23). This feminine form of kham (“father-in-law”) is widely perceived by lexicographers to be a nominal derivative of the unattested verb *khamah. Cognates of this word appear in extrabiblical literature (Arabic khamay, “to protect, defend”; OSA ?mh, “sacred precinct, protective association”), and the root idea seems to be protection, shelter, or refuge. An Arabic attorney, for example, is a mu?amin (“protector”), while an Egyptian “protector” is a ...

1649. Peter the Petulant

Mark 14:1-11, Mark 14:12-26, Mark 14:27-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) Prop: a white linen cloth… or apron For centuries, pastors have been called a “man” or “woman” of the cloth. I always wondered about that phrase. When I looked it up, I saw that in fact, many people used to be called people of the cloth –bakers, kitchen workers, tradesmen, all who worked primarily in service or handworking positions to others. Later, the term remained only for the clergy, who also wore ...

1650. Identity Crisis

Genesis 32:1-21, Genesis 32:22-32, Genesis 33:1-20

Sermon

Lori Wagner

We all walk with a limp. Our walk with God is a broken gait. Or at least an uneven one. God is always in the lead. Always sure. Always strong. We (on the other hand) walk with God weakly and imperfectly. Sometimes even disastrously. But as long as we continue to walk, we remain in relationship. And that’s what’s most important. In life, our limps and our scars tell our stories. Stories of the struggles we’ve survived. Stories of the wounds we’ve suffered. They leave a visible trace upon our person, a ...

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