Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1751 to 1775 of 4914 results

1751. The Lonely Prophet

1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a

Sermon

King Duncan

One of the great concepts that has come out of the sobriety movement and organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous is the acronym HALT—H. A. L. T. The word, of course, literally means “to stop.” But in sobriety circles, the acronym HALT serves as a reminder to be careful how you react when you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired. Researchers have found that, for someone with addiction issues, these four states leave you particularly vulnerable to temptation. They suggest that, before you take a drink or pop a ...

1752. More Fully Understanding Christ

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

I don’t know if you have noticed all the news stories this year about new technologies designed to help us all communicate better. Many of these stories proclaim that artificial intelligence, or AI as it is popularly known, will revolutionize the way we communicate, whether through writing emails or articles or using social media or simply texting or talking on the phone. And all of that is well and good, but what happens if your technology doesn’t understand you? Back in 2003, when much of today’s ...

1753. Against All Odds

Luke 14:25-33

Sermon

Lori Wagner

In 2009, Simon Sinek came out with both a TED talk and book that changed the way business leaders looked at how to motivate their employees to support the company’s vision and work together toward company goals. They wanted to encourage company loyalty in a world in which job change had become common and wanted to ensure that their employees had the company’s best interests in mind. They also wanted to cultivate a loyal customer base, encourage others to try their brand, and cultivate new groups of buyers ...

1754. Living with the Aches and Alleluias

Luke 21:5-38

Sermon

Eric Ritz

She had every reason to be bitter. The circumstances of life had dealt a ton of harshness for her to handle. "Though talented, she went unrecognized for years. Prestigious opera circles closed their ranks when she tried to enter. American critics ignored her compelling voice. She was repeatedly rejected for parts for which she easily qualified. It was only after she went to Europe and won the hearts of tough-to-please European audiences that stateside opinion leaders acknowledged her talent. "Not only has ...

1755. Be Healed, Be Held

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Every morning all humans do the same thing. We get up, take a shower, brush our teeth, and then decide what we are going to wear. Generally in western culture it remains true that “Clothes make the man,” or in the name of a popular website, “Clothes make the girl.” Got a teenager? Then you know what I’m talking about. Then you know oh-so-purse-painfully how important it is to have the “right look.” To wear the “right duds” so you can be the “right dudes.” Even if you are not a “fashionista,” it is almost ...

1756. Defeating Discouragement

Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

Charley Reeb

Yard sales are interesting to me. I don’t frequent them very often, but I am always fascinated by the fact that “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” Someone can’t wait to get rid of old tapes and records — doesn’t want them cluttering up the house anymore. Along comes a complete stranger and he just can’t believe anyone would want to sell them. He buys them for a steal and drives home with a big smile thinking he just committed robbery. He brings the records home, clutters up his own house ...

1757. Possession Is Nine-tenths Of The Law

Daniel 7:1-14, Daniel 7:15-28

Sermon

Robert P. Hines

The book of Daniel belongs to that strange genre of biblical literature we call "apocalyptic." To the modern ear it sounds very different, and its language is somewhat bizarre. Some interpreters have tried to use this literature to predict with certainty the future, but some find this to be an inappropriate use of scripture. Apocalyptic literature is much easier to understand, and more helpful to us in our daily living, if we avoid trying to use it as a detailed outline of future events and simply try to ...

1758. New Wine in New Wineskins

Mark 2:18-22

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

We humans are often schizophrenic when it comes to the old and the new. On one hand, we are creatures of tradition. We follow the same daily routine. We sit in the same pew at worship. We find comfort in things which are familiar. Change is something we'd rather avoid. On the other hand, we often seek those activities and items which have the potential to rescue us from the abyss of boredom -- bigger houses -- exotic vacations -- fancier cars. Actually, this is just the tip of the iceberg. All too often we ...

1759. Pay Attention To The Inside

Luke 11:37-54

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A few years ago, a barber's supply association had a convention in Chicago. As a publicity stunt they went out to skid row and found a man living in the gutter, filthy dirty and filthy drunk. They brought him back to the convention center and cleaned him up. They shampooed and shaved him. They washed him with a new kind of soap they were trying to sell. They put cologne on him, bought him a new suit, shirt, tie and shoes - - and then they proclaimed to all the world: "This is what our barber supplies can ...

1760. 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 ...

1761. Crucified with Christ

Galatians 2:11-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Some verses in the Bible are like beacons in the sea of scripture – buoys that mark the channel of God’s activity in history, God’s intervention in our lives, God’s relationship to persons. Genesis 1: 1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Psalm 8: 4-5: “When I look at the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained; what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the Son of Man that thou dost care for him? Yet thou hast made him a little less than ...

1762. The Unforgivable Sin

Mark 3:20-30

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

One of my favorite preachers, Clarence Forsberg, tells a story about a man who realized his life-long ambition by going on a safari in Africa. “He took along his wife, even though she was not the outdoors type. They set up camp in a jungle cleaning, and as he prepared to go out the first day he presented his wife with a little silver bell. He explained, ‘There is really nothing to worry about. I’m not going to be very far away. If you have any trouble at all, just ring this bell, and I’ll come right back.’ ...

1763. Fire from Heaven

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

“I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.” Is there any food more universally loved than ice cream? It’s cool and creamy. Silky smooth. You can have it in any flavor you desire. Even garlic. Ice cream is the ultimate “cool” comfort food. Of course there was no “ice cream” until there could be “ice-on-demand.” That means available ice when it was not threatening to bring down your roof or freeze you to death during a blizzard. Ice cream did not come into its own, was not tasted by other than the ...

1764. A Glory Revealed to Faith Alone

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, saying, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt to kill us in the wilderness? There is neither bread nor water, and we’ve had it with this stupid manna."1 And the Lord sent deadly serpents among the people, and they began biting the people, and many of the sons of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said to him, "We have sinned because we spoke against the Lord and against you. So now, pray to the Lord that ...

1765. Time For A New Vision

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

Angela Akers

Before her death in 1997, Jeanne Calment was the oldest living human whose age could be verified by official documentation. This remarkable French lady claimed she owed her longevity to chocolate, olive oil, and port wine. On her one hundred and twentieth birthday celebration, someone asked Ms. Calment, "What is your vision of the future?" With a twinkle in her eye, Ms. Calment replied, "Very brief." (1) Let's talk about vision. Someone has compiled a list of forty "Killer Phrases," the things that people ...

1766. A Misguided Game of Hide-and-Seek

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

Because he was a rather large kid when we were growing up, I often thought that Jonathan could have made a good bully. His body played the part at any rate -- his pudgy physique forever pushing and shoving against the crowded confines of his wardrobe. Of course, he would have had to lose that goofy grin which always allowed him to look like he was trying to laugh at a joke that he didn't really get. And it probably would have helped if he'd done something with the way he walked, which had a clumsy, awkward ...

1767. Behold The Man Who Takes Away Sin

John 1:29-34

Sermon

Thomas A. Pilgrim

G. K. Chesterton was once asked the question, "Why did you join the church so late in life?" He answered, "To get rid of my sins."1 That is a wonderful answer. It is still the solution for so many of the world's problems and the problems of people everywhere. So many of us know that there is something wrong, something which must be set right at some point along the way. And we want someone to set things right. Yet, many times we have the feeling that we cannot break through, cannot make the connection, ...

1768. Advent 4

Mt 1:18-25 · Rom 1:1-7 · Isa 7:10-17 · Ps 80

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

THIS WEEK'S TEXT Revised Common: Is 7:10-16 · Rom 1:1-7 · Mt 1:18-25 Roman Catholic: Is 7:10-14 · Rom 1:1-7 · Mt 1:18-24 Episcopal: Is 7:10-17 · Rom 1:1-7 · Mt 1:18-25 Lutheran: Is 7:10-14 (15-17) · Rom 1:1-7 · Mt 1:18-25 Seasonal Theme: Attitude of Obedience Suggested Text For Preaching: Matthew 1:24 and Romans 1:5 COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Isaiah 7:10-17 This selection contains a verse (v. 14) that rings musically in the Christian's ear at Christmas. It speaks of a virgin (almah actually means young woman) ...

1769. Proper 23

Exodus 32:1-33:6, Isaiah 25:1-12, Matthew 22:1-14, Philippians 4:1-9

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The importance of accepting God's gracious invitation to the feast of life. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 32:1-14 Moses is meeting with the Lord on Mount Horeb and is away from the people for a long time. The people suspect that something perverse has happened to their leader and so they petition Aaron to make gods for them. Taking their jewelry, he fashions a gold calf and proclaims it the object of their worship. Seeing this unfaithfulness, God wants to destroy the people and make a nation from ...

1770. Easter 2

John 20:19-23, Acts 5:12-16, Acts 5:17-42, Job 42:1-6, Revelation 1:4-8, Revelation 1:9-20, John 20:24-31, Psalm 149:1-9

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The method of counting the Sundays between Easter Sunday and Pentecost provides the theological clue to worship and preaching during the Easter season. Easter, as a unitive event, which combines the death and resurrection of Jesus in its celebration, is the pivotal Sunday of the church year; the resurrection is imperative in the gospels and in the life of the church and the lives of its members. The resurrection assures believers of something that is entirely new, something beyond the ...

1771. Pentecost Sunday

Acts 2:1-13, Psalm 104:1-35, Joel 2:28-32, Genesis 11:1-9, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, John 16:5-16, John 20:19-23, John 15:18--16:4

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Pentecost is the "50th day" of Easter. It brings the great 50 days of the Pasch to a close and, at the same time, it introduces the Pentecost cycle, which is also the longest season of the church year; it extends to the First Sunday in Advent. As early as the eighth century, in France, there was an attempt to break the long season into shorter segments. Saints days provided the key to the division of the season - June 29, Saints Peter and Paul; August 10, St. Lawrence; September 29, St. ...

1772. Advent 3

Zephaniah 3:1-20, Philippians 4:2-9, Luke 3:1-20, Isaiah 12:1-6

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE It should be remembered by the preacher that the church year is not simply a framework which surrounds the liturgy of the church, but it is also a skeleton which needs to be fleshed out with readings from the Old and New Testaments. This becomes manifestly clear by the Third Sunday in Advent, because the world is pulling in one direction while the Christian year orients and points us to the past, the present, and the future. When filled out by the various sets of propers, including the ...

1773. Baptism of Our Lord

Matthew 3:13-17, Acts 10:23b-48, Psalm 45:1-17, Isaiah 42:1-9

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The theological intention in giving the baptism of Jesus its own special day, the First Sunday after the Epiphany, rather than attempting to restore it to January 6 and reconstruct Epiphany as a unitive event, is several fold: first, it is an important part of the incarnation, as a reaffirmation by God that this man was the Holy Child born in Bethlehem three decades or so in the past; second, Jesus has come to bring in the Kingdom of God and save all people through the forgiveness of their ...

1774. Pentecost 24

Mal 1:6-14, Lev 2:1-16, Mic 3:1-12, Am 5:18-27, Ru 4:1-1, 1Th 2:1-16, 4:13-5:11, Mt 23 and 25:1-13

Sermon Aid

CSS

THEOLOGICAL CLUE If a congregation happened to be following the readings listed in Lutheran Worship, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod's revision of the Roman Ordo and the LBW lectionary, the people would have caught the eschatological clue last Sunday; the Lutheran Worship lectionary follows the older Lutheran practice of abandoning the numerical progression of the Sundays in Pentecost and assigning the same three sets of readings - always eschatological - for the last three Sundays of Pentecost. The ...

1775. A Faith for the Uncharted Way

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Leonard Mann

A few summers ago my family and I made a motor trip west from our home in Ohio to the Pacific coast, and returned. We crossed the prairies and the plains, the Mojave Desert and the great salt flats of Utah; we drove through the Badlands and the Grand Tetons, and crossed the Sierra Nevadas and the Rocky Mountains twice. We followed the trails of the pioneers, the Mojave, the Wyoming, and the Santa Fe. We traveled on good roads in a good automobile with a good road map. We had never been in any of that ...

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