Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1751 to 1775 of 5000 results

1751. Francis of Assisi: a Faith for Every Day

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

A Prayer attributed to St. Francis Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is ...

1752. The Glory and the Cross

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

I thought my heart would skip a beat I was so excited. I was sixteen at the time. It was a magic moment. We all held hands around the campfire. The wooden cross stood out against a moonlit sky. The waves of the lake seemed to beat against the shore in perfect time with the music. Our hearts were united as we sang chorus after chorus. The Bible camp leader led us in prayer. We added our own prayers. No one wanted to leave the campfire. The moment was just too perfect. "It is well to be here," I thought to ...

1753. Where Do Sins Go?

2 Samuel 12:1-31

Sermon

Edward Chinn

On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The light from that explosion was brighter than 25,000 suns. John Hershey wrote a book about that day. The book, titled Hiroshima, described the permanent shadows which were caused by the blast of that bomb. The heat from that burst of energy indelibly etched the shadows of objects and human beings upon the buildings and the roads of that place. When troops later entered that devastated city, they saw the shadow of a person ...

1754. A Way Back In

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

A wise man once said to me that he tried never to let people get so far out on a limb that they could not get back in. He was the head-master of a preparatory school. As an administrator he did everything he could to enable the staff to make meaningful contributions to the school. He positively reinforced good performance; and, when a staff member got out on a limb, he not only initiated efforts to help the person back in, he also avoided putting undue stress on mistakes or attitudes which made it ...

1755. God’s Dwelling Place

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

The Israelites were nomads. They lived in tents and when the time came to seek new grazing land they moved herds and houses at the same time. What they did for a living and how they lived were beautifully adapted to each other. After receiving the covenant of the Ten Commandments, Moses set aside one tent where the tribes would meet with God and remember and renew the covenant relationship. This was called the "Tent of Meeting," and it contained the Ark of the Covenant. It was "... a tent of meeting before ...

1756. What Is God Made Of?

Acts 17:16-34

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A statue in marble or bronze, a painting of some classical origin depicting God or a likeness of Him, and then maybe a rock, leaf or wood carving. A four leaf clover or a lucky penny Good morning (evening) to you boys and girls and how are you on this beautiful day? This is our third time together and so that means that we get to talk about one of the questions that you have wondered about so often. Remember we have already asked where God is, and how old is God? Today we have an especially ...

1757. The Gift

Drama

Esther Lense

If the church’s seating arrangement allows, have all the children of the pre-school through the sixth grade sit together on one side of the chancel, with the junior choir on the other side. As the program opens, the children of the pre-school through sixth grade face the congregation and sing Come and Hear the Grand Old Story. As they sing, the "family" characters enter and arrange themselves on the chancel or stage. The school children are seated, and the spotlight focuses on the chancel. A mother and ...

1758. The Crisis of Commitment

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

In a few moments, we will commune with our Lord at the Table that He has prepared for us. His command is simple and direct: "This do." But there is an added admonition. It is repeated four times in the accounts of the institution of this Sacrament, and so, certainly, it must be important: "This do in remembrance of me." To eat this bread and drink this cup without remembering, remembering the terrible price that was paid for it, is to eat and drink it unworthily. But can we remember? In that multitude ...

1759. What’s Going On in Your Orchard?

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Charles L. Koester

She had been brutally murdered on a neighborhood bus. A young, teenaged girl. Cut down in the prime of life by a man suddenly gone berserk. The bus driver, struggling with her assailant, was himself injured. The morning after the tragedy, I was in a drugstore when this young lady’s father entered. I did not know him, but was told by the druggist, "That’s the girl’s father." I immediately assumed he was in the store having a prescription filled for a sedative of some sort. I could well imagine the effects ...

1760. Joseph of Arimathea

Luke 23:50-56

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: a mask How many of you know a rich man? I mean a really rich man. Today you are going to meet a very rich man. I don’t know how rich he was, but I know he was a man of great wealth and property. I want you to meet this man, but you must pretend with me as you have done before. The man that I am talking about is behind the mask. His name is Joseph of Arimathea and he was part of the special group of people who made decisions about his government and his church. He was a very powerful man. I want you ...

1761. A Chance Meeting

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

You would not recognize my name if I were to tell you. I am famous in the recordings of history, but by sheer happenstance, and quite impersonally. It is strange the way human lives intertwine in the stretch of years that we each have. Who could have foretold that my fame would reach 2,000 years to the fore? But you must hear my story, for while my name is unimportant, the event that thrust me into the pages of history is vital. I grew up in the Roman world, and knew the usual oppression that comes when ...

1762. The Very Nearness Of Holy Week

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

We were sitting at the side of the road - near where it begins its incline toward the gate to the City. We could see the dust of the road being kicked up into a great cloud off toward Bethany. It was a sure sign that a large group of pilgrims was coming. The dust of the air began to be mingled with the shouts and cries and singing of the people. It was a happy mob that walked by us, and surged toward the arching stone gateway to Jerusalem. They were escorting a young man into our Holy City. He was seated ...

1763. OUR LORD FORSAKEN

Sermon

E. Jerry Walker

As the winds rose and the black sky threatened to unleash its wrath the crowd on the hillside began to melt away, small groups and pairs and an occasional individual hurried toward the dark, brooding buildings of the city. Even the morbid attraction of a crucifixion could not hold the fickle mob against the portent of the fury of a spring storm. At the last there were few to witness the deaths of the crucified or their laborious descent from the crosses. The four soldiers who had made up the crucifixion ...

1764. Christmas: A Family Service

Drama

Ruthanne Cochran

Setting: A large Christmas Lrce is placed in the chancel, or on one side of the front of the sanctuary, with wrapped gifts placed beneath it. A large manger is placed in front of the altar, or communion table, with a large candle placed nearby or on the altar. The portion of the service presented by the family takes place around the tree. Participants: A family, or six selected persons to portray: A mother A father An older son An older daughter A sniall girl (aged 9 or 10) A small boy (aged 8 or 9) Youth ...

1765. Commanded By Example

John 13:31-38

Sermon

O. Garfield Beckstrand, II

In a book titled, Life Looks Up, Charles Templeton said the history of this world has been changed by events which took place in two small upper rooms. These rooms are separated not only by thousands of miles, but by nearly thousands of years. Yet the events which took place within those walls have changed the course of human history more than any other events mankind has ever known. The first "upper room" is a drab flat over a dingy laundry in a poor district in London. Through the dirty, curtainless ...

1766. Called into Friendship

John 15:1-17

Sermon

O. Garfield Beckstrand, II

I would like to ask you two questions this morning. The first question is this: "What would you consider the highest honor that you could receive? Would it be a promotion in your work or an unexpected invitation to be an overnight guest at the White House?" The second question is: "What is the finest gift that I could give to someone? Would it be money or possessions?" Answers to these questions can vary widely. But I think we can answer these questions very simply, and the answer could apply to all of us ...

1767. The Sheep And The Goats

Matthew 25:31-46

Sermon

Brett Blair

Like it or not, judgment is a fact of life. That is true whether we are talking about the histories of nations or the events of our own personal life. If we break the law, then society will judge us. If we live immorally drink too much, engage in sexual promiscuity, live a lifestyle of constant stress then our bodies will judge us. We simply cannot escape judgment in life. Jesus rarely spoke about the final judgment, but on one occasion he did paint a picture for us in one of his stories. The parable that ...

1768. The Meeting

Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45, Luke 1:26-38

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: Great faith encourages the worship of God. Summary: Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, meets with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and they encourage each other. Playing Time: 5 minutes Setting: The house of Elizabeth Props: None Costumes: Peasants of Jesus' Time Time: Before the birth of Jesus Cast: Elizabeth -- the mother of John the Baptist, sixty years old, six months pregnant Mary -- her cousin, the mother of Jesus, fifteen years old, pregnant ELIZABETH: (ENTERS, HUMMING A TUNE AND MENDING A ...

1769. God's Voice

John 12:20-36

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: How do we distinguish God's voice from all the clutter we hear every day? There are a few who will hear. Summary: A crowd is gathered to hear Jesus teach. But what a crowd. Among the believers are the pragmatists, the skeptics, and the non-believers. Playing Time: 4 minutes Setting: Holy Land Props: Wheat grain Flowerpot with soil Costumes: Period costume for Jesus, modern for crowd Time: The Time of Jesus Cast: Jesus Soman -- a face in the crowd Buno -- another face in the same crowd Garna -- a ...

1770. A Dreadful Declaration

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

George Bass

When a person makes a radical statement about his or her purpose in life, most people react with equally radical answers and actions. They may express incredulity, even shock, by vocal opposition or, perhaps, even by laughter. Years ago a college friend, after two years of "just getting by in a business course," announced that he was changing to a pre-medical course of study. When he said, "I’m going to be a doctor," his friends almost laughed in his face. He had never been a good student; in high school, ...

1771. Confrontation in the Temple

John 2:12-25

Sermon

George Bass

Jesus laid claim to a special relationship with God the Father. He demonstrated an all-consuming love for the Temple (where formal business with God was done in worship and study) when, according to Saint Luke, he was twelve years old. Neither Matthew, Mark, nor John includes that account in their gospels. But Luke evidently considered the incident to be a true story that was important enough to be included in the gospel that bears his name; he was interested, as his Acts of the Apostles affirms, in ...

1772. Will the Real Prophets Please Speak Up?

Deuteronomy 18:14-22

Sermon

Richard L. Eslinger

There was a time in Israel when no prophets spoke for God. During those long years after the Exile, prophecy seemed dead. There were no prophets and none were expected. All the people could do was to look back for comfort to the times when God had sent an Amos, an Hosea, an Ezekiel. Those were the good old days, when the word of the Lord was heard in the land. But now they were gone ... and the long wait for the messenger of the Lord had begun. Our problem is quite different, it seems. We may be living in ...

1773. Luther of Wittenberg

Drama

Michael L. Sherer

"All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death ..." Philippians 3:8-11 Participants enter and take their places in the chancel. As they come forward, the congregation sings the hymn, "In the Hour of Trial." When the hymn is completed, the drama begins. LECTOR: I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown ...

1774. Should Christians Always Oppose War?

Romans 13:1-7

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Should Christians always oppose war? Pope John Paul II sent a special envoy to Baghdad to support peace. The Pope did not believe a preemptive strike against Iraq met the church criteria for a just war. Methodist Bishops have spoken out against the war. Baptist and Episcopals have also. Christians around the world marched with others against war. All these sentiments were expressed 10 years ago in the first Gulf War. But if America and her allies had not liberated Kuwait and sent Saddam Hussein scurrying ...

1775. Coping with Fear, Worry, and Anxiety

Matthew 6:25-34

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

If you do not worry, if you have never worried, if you do not plan to worry, do not read this chapter; it will be a waste of time. But if a dark cloud of worry overshadows your life, read this chapter carefully; the shadow can be dispelled. We live in an age of anxiety. The image is the image of fear - not the image of faith. We respond to the old Scotch litany: "From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggety beasties. And things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!" It seems that we expect the ...

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