Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1701 to 1725 of 5000 results

1701. Dessert in the Desert

Deut 32:10-12 · Ez 37

Sermon

Robert Noblett

On one occasion our family went to a park for a picnic, and as my wife and I sat watching our children play, we beheld the most unsettling of sights. There was a child, perhaps eleven months of age, playing in the sand next to his mother, and he was eating handfuls of sand the way you and I consume handfuls of Planters Peanuts. One of his siblings brought this matter to the attention of his mother and her comment was, "Don’t worry about it; it won’t hurt him!" After watching him wolf down a few handfuls of ...

1702. MIRIAM’S BABY BROTHER

Drama

Marcia Miller

Miriam’s Baby Brother is based on the familiar story that is found in Exodus 1:15--2:9. This play is an historical re-telling of the story-line but has a more modern atmosphere, which is demonstrated through the dialogue and setting. If a more elaborate set decoration is used, the setting is inside the house. There are a table, several chairs, a fireplace, and a cradle; the usual things. A door on stage right leads to another room in the house. Sitting on the table is a large basket. It is big enough to ...

1703. THE GOOD SAMARITAN

Drama

Marcia Miller

The story of The Good Samaritan is written in Luke 10:30-35. The full explanation of this simple play is given by The Greeter within the first speeches of the play. It was written in this style so that it would be specific and not just a rewriting of the New Testament story that is so familiar. It is not a subtle theological approach; it is direct. But in its directness it is hoped that the discoursive language does not outweigh the entertainment value. CHARACTERS THE GREETER The Greeter can either be male ...

1704. It Is Finished

John 19:28-37

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

The last word that Jesus spoke on the cross, as reported by John's gospel, chapter 19, verse 30, is "It is finished." That sentence is just one word in Greek--"Tetelestai." That sentence can have varied meanings depending on the context and the tone. A few years ago a professional boxer named Roberto Duran was locked in an epic championship bout with sugar Ray Leonard. Both fighters struggled heroically with almost superhuman endurance. But finally Duran was too exhausted to continue. He cried out in ...

1705. The Cross Way of Life

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

"He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me ... and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it." [Matthew 10:37-39] During the presidential campaign of 1976, Jimmy Carter became famous for his teeth. Cartoonists had a holiday exaggerating the size of his teeth. His teeth were prominent because he went across the country constantly smiling which certainly was an important factor ...

1706. Food for Faith

Matthew 14:13-21

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Pentecost XI Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a lonely place apart. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. As he went ashore he saw a great throng; and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a lonely place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves." Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to ...

1707. Forgiving Is Forgetting

Sermon

Harold Warlick

Life is full of instances when people, for lack of better wording, "rub each other the wrong way." Members of families have conflicts and spats. Neighbors clash over their actions. People who have been friends for years suddenly fall out over an occurrence in which they felt "wronged" by the other. Unfortunately, many of these people walk through life carrying a grudge. Something that has happened long ago, something perhaps small and insignificant when it occurred, remains a chip on their shoulder. They ...

1708. Defended By the Divine

Mark 14:1-11

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

Women have sometimes had the reputation for doing some pretty dumb things. My preacher-husband, John, and I drove to a preaching mission in Mississippi recently. Three different times, the same day, we found ourselves behind a woman (a different one each time) who signaled to make a turn, then turned the opposite direction from her signal. It reminded me of the person who said "When a woman sticks out her arm, and indicates a left turn, the only thing you can be absolutely sure of is that the window is ...

1709. On Being a Tenant

Matthew 21:33-46

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

All the details of the story that Jesus tells about being a tenant and owning a vineyard would have been familiar facts to the people who heard him tell it. I have on several occasions seen the vineyards of Israel, which are surrounded by a stone wall. On top of the wall is placed brambles that keep the wild animals from coming into the vineyard. They also protect the vineyard from thieves climbing over the stone wall. Many of the vineyards that I saw had a wine-press located right on the spot. A tower was ...

1710. Being Set Free

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

Today’s Gospel promises us freedom, if we will truly be disciples of Christ. In fact, Jesus promises that if we will learn, know, and follow the truth, we will be set free. Remember, however, first we must become disciples. Jesus tells us that to be a real disciple is to accept what he says about how great God is and how terrible sin is, and what the real meaning of life is. When we do this, we are starting to take the role of discipleship. In order to be a disciple, we are told to remain in the word. The ...

1711. Grace, Salvation, and Redemption

Romans 8:18-27, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Romans 5:1-11

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

To be a Christian, says Emil Brunner, is to share something which has happened, which is happening, and which will happen. Archibald Hunter, in his book The Gospel According to St. Paul, makes good use of this approach and it provides a helpful scheme for our study of Paul’s basic theology of salvation by grace. First is salvation as a past event, in which the accent falls on redemption as a once-for-all divine act which has already occurred. Second is salvation as a present experience, the response of ...

1712. Salvation as Personal Experience

Romans 9:30--10:21

Sermon Aid

T. A. Kantonen

Thus far we have studied Paul’s doctrine of salvation in objective terms. Salvation is the work of divine grace, centering in the atoning death of Christ on the cross and bringing about a change in the relation of mankind to God, a change described as redemption, justification, and reconciliation. We turn now to the subjective and personal aspect of salvation, to Paul’s answer to the question, "What must I do to be saved?" Faith When this question was asked by the Philippian jailer, Paul replied, "Believe ...

1713. Your Image of Tomorrow

Matthew 3:1-12

Sermon

Leonard Mann

"Among those who are born of women ..." If you are thinking of the human race, this is a rather inclusive statement; I can’t think of very many people it leaves out! And this is a statement of Jesus as he offers a summa cum laude of highest praise to one of his associates in the dissemination of truth and light. He says, "Among those who are born of women, there has not arisen a greater prophet than John the Baptizer" (Matthew 11:11; Luke 7:28). What was it that was so great about John - this son of ...

1714. To Receive or Worship?

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Jon L. Joyce

1. The Master needs them [Matthew 21:2] There is much talk of priorities today, the placing of things in their proper order of importance, with first things coming first. When Christ needed the donkey to ride into Jerusalem, it was enough to say to the owner that the Master needed the beast. Christ was to have first call on its use, as a matter of course. This should be the case in Christ’s requests of us. The proper priority in life is Christ first, others second, selves third. Unfortunately, most people ...

1715. Trumpets in Church on Easter, The Very Idea!

Mark 16:1-20

Sermon

Jon L. Joyce

"HE HAS RISEN" It was a solid, staid, old parish to which I was called just after the war, one that needed a bit of waking up here and there, and on our first Easter, we arranged to have the Sunrise Service begin with a fanfare by a quartet of trumpets sounding forth from the balcony. Well, the trumpeters were quite enthusiastic, and I must admit, quite loud; and, quite frankly, the innovation was not received with unanimous approval. In fact, one elderly lady in the congregation was quite vocal about it. ...

1716. When Your Sister or Brother Stumbles

2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Sometime ago Ann Landers received the following letter from a woman in Dubuque, Iowa: "Dear Ann, My neighbor considers herself a born-again Christian, yet I know for certain that she cheats on her husband. What do you have to say about this?" Ann Landers replied, "I'd say she was a born-again Christian with birth defects." The fact of the matter is that all of us have birth defects of one sort or another. That is, none of us Christians ceases to be a sinner. We are forgiven sinners, sinners under ...

1717. THE JOURNEY

Drama

Jerome W. Nilssen

Shortly after midnight; a grimy train station in a midwestern city. CAIN wearing a conductor’s hat, opens a thermos and pours a cup of coffee, adds to it from a flask he carries in his jacket. GRACE enters; opens a large handbag, her only luggage, takes out an apple, or some other fruit, and eats. As CAIN drinks, he turns to look at the woman. Finally she notices him, and she smiles. GRACE It’s a long night. CAIN Like usual. GRACE Are we waiting for the same train? CAIN I don’t know. Are we? GRACE I’m ...

1718. Chapter IV

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

"Remember the sabbath day, to set it apart for holy purposes. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh (day) is a sabbath to the Lord your God. In it you will not do any work, you or your son, your daghter, your male servant or your female servant, or your beast of burden, or the resident alien who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh (day). Therefore, the Lord blessed the sabbath ...

1719. Chapter VII

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

"You will not commit adultery" Exodus 20:14 If I had my "druthers" I would skip this Commandment and go on to the next one, because this "word" speaking about sex is a difficult one to deal with frankly and directly. What makes it so hard to do that without beating around the bush is the fact that most people are still skitterish about the subject. Oh, most of us are able to talk about sex with a few choice friends, or in some small groups, but a lot of us still start to get up tight when the subject comes ...

1720. This Is Our Song

Psalm 121:1-8

Sermon

Michael J. Anton

You are pilgrims. I am a pilgrim. This is our song: "I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from?" Like all pilgrims, I’m on a journey. It’s a very important trip. It’s not just a quickie weekend jaunt, in and out of a motel. It’s more than an overnight camp out. It’s even longer than a sweepstakes winning tour of the world. I’m on a journey every day of my life; life is that kind of trip. The trip is sometimes a fearful and anxious one. I lift my eyes to find help somewhere in those hills ...

1721. God Bless America! Well ... Uhh

Sermon

Michael J. Anton

THANKSGIVING DAY A pilgrim’s hat, a turkey and the bust of an Indian. These are the items our son brought home from his preschool class this week. These treasures have been in the making for a week or so now, in preparation for this day. They were made, of course, to help the children of his class learn something about this history of this American holiday. And these symbols do tell us that our American Thanksgiving is a unique celebration. But we have other symbols for this day. Where else but in Amerca ...

1722. ARMOR - BEARER

Jeremiah 9:54; 1 Samuel 14:7

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

Jeremiah 9:54 - "Then he called hastily to the young man his armorbearer, and said to him, ‘Draw your sword and kill me, lest men say of me, "A woman killed him." ’ And his young man thrust him through, and he died." 1 Samuel 14:7 - "And his armor-bearer said to him, ‘Do all that your mind inclines to; behold, I am with you; as is your mind, so is mine.’ " 2 Samuel 23:37 - "Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah." 1 Chronicles 10:4 - "Then Saul said to his armor ...

1723. GARDENER

John 20:15

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

John 20:15 - "Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ " On any given spring or summer weekend, we can drive through the streets of our cities, and through the country as well, and see people in practically every plot of ground mowing, weeding, planting, watering, all the things that are necessary to have a beautiful, well-cared for ...

1724. HERALD

Daniel 3:4

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

Daniel 3:4 - "And the herald proclaimed aloud, ‘You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages.’ " How often have we heard on our radios or television screens that the President’s press secretary has made such and such a statement? Or perhaps you are associated with a company that employs a public relations man to present a picture of the company to the buying public. Well, in its biblical sense, both a press secretary and a public relations man can be considered as heralds. The herald was an officer ...

1725. PROPHET

Hebrews 11:32

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

Hebrews 11:32 - "And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephtah, of David and Samuel and the prophets -" "Prophet" is the Greek word used in the Greek Old Testament to translate a Hebrew word whose meaning is obscure; the Greek meant a person who spoke or interpreted oracles, and therefore was not speaking his own thoughts, but those of a god. Although the word in essence means "forth-telling," not "fore-telling," still part of the Greek word means "before," and ...

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