Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1651 to 1675 of 4933 results

1651. The Ugly Duckling

Drama

Karren Boehr

Theme: Sharing Christ With Others This play may be presented as a unit, or divided up into Scene 1 and Scene 2 on consecutive Sundays. Small to moderate space is needed, and the setting may be as elaborate or as simple as one wishes to make it. No special lighting or sound effects are needed. Scene I Setting: Fitness center. Present; after Christmas (any holiday may be used). There is a bench front left, exercise bike sits to right of bench Characters:LINDA: Young Christian woman, pleasant, serious about ...

1652. The Faith of the Cannanite Woman

Mark 7:24-30

Sermon

Brett Blair

What would you think if I told you that on your tombstone would be inscribed a four-word epitaph? Well, you might respond, it would depend on who would write this epitaph--an enemy or a loved one. It might also depend, you might say, on how well this person knew and understood you. If a newspaper critic wrote of a concert pianist the four words: He was a failure, you could always say: That was his opinion. But if one of the world's great musicians wrote, “He was a genius,” then you are apt to take the ...

1653. Great Is Your Faith

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Brett Blair

What would you think if I told you that on your tombstone would be inscribed a four-word epitaph? Well, you might respond, it would depend on who would write this epitaph an enemy or a loved one. It might also depend, you might say, on how well this person knew and understood you. If a newspaper critic wrote of a concert pianist the four words: "He was a failure," you could always say: That was his opinion. But if one of the world's great musicians wrote, "He was a genius," then you are apt to take the ...

1654. Some Healing Is Up To You

John 5:1-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

There is a famous legend in Buddhist folklore in which the Buddha compares philosophical preoccupation with the matter of God’s existence to a man shot with a poisoned arrow. Before the man would allow the arrow to be withdrawn, he insisted upon knowing who shot him, what kind of poison was in the arrow, who was going to administer the cure, and what was going to be the medication. Needless to say, he died before his questions were answered. The Buddha concluded that in the same way, people need to be ...

1655. Dealing With Your Enemies

Luke 6:27-36

Sermon

King Duncan

How do you treat your enemies? This is an ancient question, and it is a question that is still relevant to our world today. A little girl came home from Sunday School and asked her father if she could send a note to Osama Bin Laden. “Why him?” asked her startled father. “Because,” said the little girl, “if Mr. Bin Laden got a nice note from a little American girl, maybe he’d think that we’re not all bad and he might start liking us a little. And then maybe he’d write a note back and come out of his cave ...

1656. Abraham and God's Promise

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

King Duncan

Dr. Mickey Anders tells a hilarious story about a man who took his film to a one-hour photo developing service in downtown Chicago. He left his film and returned in an hour to discover that the place was no longer a one-hour photo shop. Now it was a one-hour dry cleaners. The confused man hesitantly entered the store, met the same clerk, and asked about his film. The gentleman behind the counter said, “Was that a suit or just shirts?” The man replied, “It was 35-millimeter film.” The clerk asked, “Was it ...

1657. Have You Heard?

Matthew 4:12-23

Sermon

Mark Trotter

This is the day of our Charge Conference, the annual meeting of this congregation when we evaluate and celebrate the past year. And indeed, we can give thanks to God for all that has happened during this past year, and look forward to the future to what God has in store for us, particularly as we look forward to a new millennium. So it is appropriate that on this Sunday the gospel lesson be Matthew's version of the call of the disciples. That is what I want us to look at this morning. There are two classic ...

1658. The Time of Waiting Is Over

Mark 1:14-20

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I am going to begin the sermon this morning by telling you about a dream that I had sometime ago. I realize the risk that I am taking in doing this. There are psychiatrists and psychologists in this congregation who may feel compelled after they hear this sermon to hand me their card. Also, you may know more about me after this sermon than you bargained for. But I have been assured that this dream is universal, so I trust that you have had similar ones. Actually it happened many years ago, but I remember ...

1659. What Part of “You Shall Not” Don’t You Understand?

Exodus 20:1-17

Sermon

Ron Lavin

Ethical relativists have moved into our lives like a horde of invading barbarians threatening to conquer the land. Increasingly, people seem to be succumbing to the enemy. Many today say, "Nothing is absolute, not God, not the Bible, not the Ten Commandments." The only absolute for many people today seems to be the statement, "There are no absolutes." Guess again. The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) are biblical correctives for a society that too easily has been overcome by the ethical relativists who ...

1660. What Would Jesus Say About Marriage?

Matthew 19:3-12

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Harry and Martha had been married for fifty years when their friends and family threw an anniversary party for them. At the height of their celebration Harry proposed a toast with these words: “Martha and I have been married for fifty years and never had a fight. The secret to our bliss can be attributed to this. On the night of our wedding we agreed that whenever an argument arose between us, I would take a walk. Which, come to think of it, probably explains why I have lived a largely outdoor life.” ...

1661. A Cantankerous Prophet

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

King Duncan

There are some jokes that are so bad they bear retelling. [So, if any of you remember me telling this story, keep that in mind.] (1) It seems there was once a fisherman . . . you already know it’s going to be bad, don’t you? This fisherman and his wife were blessed with twin sons. They loved the children very much, but couldn’t think of what to name them. Finally, after several days, the fisherman said, “Let’s not decide on names right now. If we wait a little while, the names will simply occur to us.” ...

1662. Pilate's Dilemma

John 18:28-40

Sermon

King Duncan

Pilate was a politician. That says it all, doesn’t it? I read recently that 53 percent of Americans can’t name their representative in Congress. That doesn’t keep Congress from being highly unpopular. As someone once asked, “If pro is the opposite of con, is progress the opposite of Congress?” Someone else has said that the reason a person in Congress try so hard to get re-elected is that they would hate to have to make a living under the laws they’ve passed. I heard about one southern Congressman who had ...

1663. Warning Against Falling Away

Hebrews 5:11-6:12

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

The Importance of Christian Maturity Before continuing his argument concerning Melchizedek, the author pauses for an exhortation to maturity which is followed by remarks on the seriousness of apostasy. This digression is important particularly because of the information it provides concerning the character and situation of the addressees. 5:11–12 The author apparently regards the argument concerning Jesus as high priest according to the order of Melchizedek as too difficult for his readers in their present ...

1664. Jesus or Niccolo?

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

This world's kingdoms have never been presented in a more Machiavellian fashion or more compellingly. And never before and never again have they been nor will they be targeted to one with more reason to succumb. Surely one of the great strengthening comforts of taking Jesus Christ as our Lord is that he, more than anyone else, understands our temptations. Scripture tells us, "He himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested" (Hebrews 2:18). So we can say with ...

1665. Israel's Only Savior

Isaiah 43:1-13

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

The Restoration of a Blind and Deaf Servant, I: After the parallel sequences of prophecies in 41:1–20 and 41:21–42:17 have come to their natural end in praise, a new pair of sequences begins. First Yahweh directly confronts Jacob-Israel about its capacity to fulfill the servant role (42:18–25). Then Jacob-Israel is reassured that nevertheless Yahweh, the one who brought the community into being, is still committed to it (43:1–7). Further, its calling to be Yahweh’s servant still stands, and beyond that, ...

1666. The Healing Tree

Revelation 22:1-6, Luke 8:1-15

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” --Ezekiel 47:12 “The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will ...

1667. Following God's Plan

1 John 5:1-6

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Once upon a time, long, long ago, a young man decided to become a saint. He left his home, family, and possessions, sold everything he owned, and gave the money to the poor. He walked off into the desert to find God. He walked through the desert sands until he found a dark cave. “Here,” he thought, “I will be alone with God. Nothing can distract me from God.” He prayed day and night in the dark cave, but God sent him great temptations. He imagined all the good things of life and wanted them desperately. ...

1668. Your Body Is a Temple

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

Ronald Love

Eva Longoria married Tony Parker, the point guard for the San Antonia Spurs, on July 6, 2007, in a civil ceremony at a Paris city hall. They had a Catholic wedding ceremony at the Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois Church in Paris on July 7, 2007. On November 17, 2010, Longoria filed for divorce from Parker in Los Angeles, citing “irreconcilable differences.” Longoria told the media that she had discovered hundreds of text messages from another woman on her husband’s phone. The other woman was Erin Barry, the wife ...

1669. A Thanksgiving Checklist

Luke 12:48

Sermon

Robert Noblett

Do you ever find yourself getting confused over actual holidays and legal holidays? I do. About all that I am ever really sure of is that holidays mean sales. In fact, I am convinced that if you were to take certain holidays and ask the person on the street how we came to have them and what they mean, the majority wouldn’t have the foggiest. Pulaski? Who’s Pulaski? In 1927 Reinhold Niebuhr noted how Thanksgiving can become twisted and wrested from its germinal essence. He wrote: Thanksgiving becomes ...

1670. Proper 13

Ephesians 4:1-16, 2 Samuel 12:1-31, John 6:25-59

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Receiving the true bread of life, Jesus Christ. COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Samuel 11:26--12:13a This text continues the story of David's sin with Bathsheba and spells out the consequences. After Bathsheba's period of mourning, David brings her into his household and marries her. He might have thought that he had gotten away with his crime when Nathan the prophet tells him the story of the rich man who took the poor man's little ewe lamb to slaughter for a feast. David unknowingly pronounces ...

1671. Made New By 180 Degrees

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

Richard A. Wing

For those of you who have come here a mite tense today, I have good news for you. Without tension you cannot know the ultimate joy of Christmas. Without facing tension, Christmas is almost certainly missed. We have a tension between our texts today. We find tension between what John says and what Paul proclaims in Philippians. Two things emerge from the texts. First, the essential problem with John the Baptist. William Willimon, Chaplain at Duke University, says that John the Baptist reminds us of ...

1672. The Crowing of a Rooster

Matthew 26:31-35, Matthew 26:69-75

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

I sat with a farm family a few weeks ago for the noonday meal. The scene outside the kitchen window was typical of rural eastern North Carolina. There were open fields where this particular farmer grew corn. Leftover husks lay where he had broken the land for spring planting. While we were eating, one family member called our attention to a flock of birds that had landed in the field out back. We all turned to look, and the area was covered with blackbirds. "I'll bet there are five thousand birds out there ...

1673. Shepherding One Another in a Collapsing World

Romans 9:1-29

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

In the Scripture for this Sunday, Paul reveals an almost violent concern for his people. He is thinking about the Jews who have rejected Christ and the ultimate step in their history of being the people of God. Note Paul’s concern: "I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh." Paul was not mad at his people. He was heartbroken. He must have felt like Jesus felt when he cried out over ...

1674. The Necessity of Moral Commitment

Gen 3:1-24 · Is 28:15

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

The way things are going today we would almost think that we have been let loose in the universe in the midst of a strange experience called life, with no maps, no roads, no guideposts, nothing that is directive, no compass, not even a north and south or an east and west. How can we know the truth about life? What did the creator have in mind? What does he now have in mind for us? What is God’s structure of life - his pattern for human relationships? What does he mean by love, beauty, reality? Where does ...

1675. A Man Who Was a Lion-Tamer

Daniel 6:1-28

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

In our consideration of the favorite men of the Bible, we have looked at them in chronological order, trying to retell the story of God’s redemption of his fallen creatures. We have followed God’s chosen people (through Abraham) into the land of promise (Moses) and have seen the building of a mighty kingdom (David). Then came the division of the nation - between the north and the south - and the captivity of God’s people. During this time, the great prophets of Israel appeared. Their primary purpose was to ...

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