Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1751 to 1775 of 4943 results

1751. Dad: The Head of a Godly Family

Joshua 24:15

Sermon

James Merritt

A father was getting on to his son because he was not measuring up to his expectations. After a few choice words, the father said, "Frankly, I'm just ashamed of you; you still don't have a job; when George Washington was your age he had a job as a surveyor in the wilderness." The boy quickly fired back, "That's true dad, and when he was your age he was President of the United States." I know it is true that sons do not always live up to their father's expectations, but we face a different problem in ...

1752. Ignite: Burning Love

Acts 5:17-42

Sermon

James Merritt

We all learn sooner or later that “Things are not always as they seem.” Sometimes what we think is bad news is really good news in disguise. That is illustrated by a story of two women who had not seen each other in quite a while. They were catching up and the first woman said, “I just got married.” Her friend said, “That is good news.” She said, “No, it is bad news. He is ugly.” Her friend said, “That’s bad news.” She said, “No, it is good news. He is rich!” Her friend said, “That’s good news.” She said ...

1753. The Loser

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

James Merritt

This TV show debuted nine years ago and it has fascinated millions in America for years. It is called “The Biggest Loser.” If you have never seen the show it is simply about people who are trying to win a grand prize of a quarter of a million dollars by losing the highest percentage of body weight relative to their initial weight in a certain period of time. Those of you who have watched the show may know this name, Michael Ventrella. If you don’t, he is the biggest loser on the Biggest Loser. This 30-year ...

1754. You Can Be Happy

Mark 1:29-34

Sermon

King Duncan

[While King Duncan is enjoying a well deserved retirement we are going back to his earliest sermons and renewing them. The newly modernized sermon is shown first and below, for reference sake, is the old sermon. We will continue this updating throughout the year bringing fresh takes on King's best sermons.] As I look back on the 20th century there are milestone events: WWII in the 40s, man landing on the moon in the late 60s, and the advent of the computer in the 80s. There are world dominating brands: ...

1755. Abraham Tested

Genesis 22:1-19

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

The Binding of Isaac: In an episode repulsive to a contemporary audience, God commands Abraham to offer up his son Isaac as a whole burnt offering. How could the God who created life and blessed humans with fertility require his faithful servant to offer up his only, beloved, son as a sacrifice? How could God ask Abraham to give up the son of promise for whom he had waited so long? On the other hand, how could Abraham obey God’s command without energetically entreating for Isaac’s life as he had done for ...

1756. Imagine a World

Matthew 18:10-14

Sermon

Mark Trotter

I have just returned from my vacation, part of which was spent in Canada fishing for salmon. I notice there always seems to be a curiosity when I come back from a fishing trip to know if I caught anything, and if so, how big was it? I can usually exercise the necessary latitude to describe my catch appropriately, but this time I was with several members of this congregation. They happen to be in this service this morning as well, so I am forced to limit what I say, and this is it. There is more to fishing ...

1757. Hazardous to Your Wealth: Myths about Money

Malachi 3:7-12

Sermon

James Merritt

Americans are used to warnings. You can hardly turn anywhere that you don't read a warning label on something. There are warning labels that will alert you to inhaling fumes at the gas station, opening hot radiators, drinking diet soft drinks, smoking cigarettes, wearing seatbelts, and even letting small children play with plastic bags that cover the clothes from the dry cleaners. These warnings are all designed to make us aware of potential dangers that could bring us great harm. But when is the last time ...

1758. Broken Pieces

Matthew 1:3, 5, 6

Sermon

James Merritt

Whether you are rich or poor, black or white, Jew or Gentile, male or female, there is one thing every single person on this earth has - we all have family trees, genealogies, ancestors and if we live long enough descendants, but family trees represent more than babies and bloodlines. They represent a mosaic. Remember the definition of mosaic? mosaic (mo-za'ik) n. 1. A picture or decoration made up of diverse, multi-colored small pieces. In reality, that is what a family tree is - a picture of a family ...

1759. Planting Your Feet

Psalm 32:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

Rolling Stone Magazine recently made a list of who they considered to be the greatest, most prolific songwriters of all time. I am going to give you the top nine in their list in reverse order and see if you can guess who was #1. #9 – Elton John #8 – Joni Mitchell #7 – Paul Simon #6 – Mick Jagger #5 - Neil Young #4 - Paul McCarty #3 - Bruce Springsteen #2 - John Lennon Who wants to guess who they said was the #1 songwriter of all time? #1 – Bob Dylan I really have no qualms with that list except for the ...

1760. You Can Know What to Do With Your Life

Proverbs 3:5-6

Sermon

James Merritt

Two hundred years ago, banks invented checks so they could transfer money between company accounts and between banks themselves without actually having to risk moving large sums of cash. Eventually, someone came up with the idea of allowing individuals to use checks so they, too, could forego carrying large amounts of cash on their person that they could either lose or someone could rob. People began to learn that you could take a check from one person to a bank and then the bank would redeem the check and ...

1761. Lost Baggage: Empty Your Suitcase

Matthew 18:10-14

Sermon

James Merritt

If I have ever done a series of messages in my life that struck home, hit a nerve, scratched an itch or met a real felt need it is the series that we are concluding today that we have called “Lost Baggage.” As we have said repeatedly, everybody has baggage. Even if you grew up in what you would consider a perfect environment, that environment itself may have loaded you with baggage. What kind of baggage do people carry? Many times it’s relationships baggage. Maybe a failed marriage in your past. Maybe you ...

1762. What Kind of Sheep Are You?

Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20, Ezekiel 34:1-31

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments. (Psalm 119) Animation: “What Kind of Sheep Are You” Online Test: http://selectsmart.com/FREE/select.php?client=baaa Animation: Live Lamb (you can rent a lamb at your neighborhood 4H club or a nearby farm) Animation: Shepherd’s staff (any large natural wood staff will do) We love the Christmas story for its simplicity. Simple shepherds, simple sheep, simple message, simple mission. It all seems so simple. Hence ...

1763. The Bells Of Christmas Eve

Drama

The Cast (in order of speaking) Sebastiano Franco Sister Sophia Bruder Hans Antonio Francesca Mario Marchesi Pietro Vermelli Giuseppe Synopsis Scene The First in which Father Sebastiano Franco is bemoaning the non-ringing of the church bells on Christmas Eve and is visited by a panic-stricken nun and a strange monk from Germany. Scene The Second in which a girl and her brother stumble upon a man dying in the cold. Scene The Third in which a rich man and a poor man commit insufficient acts of love. Scene ...

1764. Getting Real

Genesis 22:1-14

Sermon

Billy D. Strayhorn

Sometime back there was a brief news report about a youth director of a local church who was fired because he had duct taped one of the unruly boys to the wall of the gym and left him there. The pictures you see are of kids and adults who consented to being duct taped to the wall not for punishment purposes but as fund raisers. The Darwin awards came out this week and the winner was James Elliot. When his 38-calibre revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold-up in Long Beach, California, ...

1765. The Broken

John 8:1-11

Sermon

James Merritt

A mother had been working with her young son trying to teach him to tell time by using a non-digital clock. For several days she kept talking to him about the “small hand” and the “big hand.” One day she heard him walk into the kitchen where there was a clock on the wall with the big hand and the little hand. She called from the other room, “Cameron, what is the little hand on?” He yelled back, “A chocolate-chip cookie!” If you are into legalese there is a legal term known as “Inflagrante Delicto.” ...

1766. SALLY JANE

Drama

Jerome W. Nilssen

Dusk; JAREL is sitting on the front steps of an old farmhouse, a building once almost elegant, now genteelly collapsing, its midwestern rococo gingerbread hanging in many places by a single, disinterested, rusty nail. The porch behind JAREL is small; its only piece of furniture is an ancient, unravelling wicker table, also seedy, with several wine bottles on it. JAREL is wearing funeral black - but she has not at all muted her makeup, and she wears plenteous beads and bracelets. JAREL (Calling into the ...

1767. Marriage, Sexual Intimacy, and Spiritual Devotion

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Teach the Text

Preben Vang

Big Idea: Husbands and wives must protect each other from sexual temptation and recognize their obligation to take care of each other’s sexual needs. They are co-owners of each other’s bodies. Understanding the Text Although Paul’s discussion on sexual immorality in chapter 6 makes the transition to his discussion on sexual obligations in marriage smooth, chapter 7 introduces a new section that continues through 11:1. After his extended discussion of the Corinthian Christ followers’ troublesome allegiance ...

1768. The New Moses

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Dean Feldmeyer

Two Christmas Stories The Bible gives us two Christmas stories — one in Matthew and one in Luke. We tend to think of Christmas as one seamless narrative but that’s because we have all grown up in churches where, every Christmas Eve, we take the two stories and “harmonize” them into one. We take bits and pieces from each gospel and we leave out other parts and we flip back and forth between them so that they sound like one smooth, uninterrupted story. And that’s fine. It’s a nice way to read the story on ...

1769. The Word Of The Lord Came To The Prophet Haggai

Haggai 1:1-15

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.... -- Haggai 1:1 Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak set out to rebuild the house of God in ...

1770. Annas, Caiaphas, and Judas

Drama

Jon Joyce

Setting The setting is a dual one, the differentiation most easily left to the audience’s imagination, unless you wish to construct a door to admit Judas to the room in the high priest’s palace where the encounter takes place. The outdoor half of the set is at stage right and may be marked with a palm tree or other foliage appropriate for spring in Israel. The indoor set, at stage left, is a beautifully appointed room in Caiaphas’ palace. This set requires three or four chairs, a cocktail or coffee table ...

1771. Back to Real Life

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

King Duncan

It’s hard not to feel a little let down after Christmas. A few days after Christmas one year Presbyterian pastor Jon M. Walton was noticing that all the Christmas decorations at one of the local pharmacies had been removed. These decorations already had been replaced with Valentine’s Day trinkets and cards. Red boxes of candy, teddy bears with big hearts on them, red candles for romantic lighting. The clerk behind the counter was complaining to another of her co‑workers, “I hate Valentine’s Day,” she said ...

1772. The Power of the Wilderness

Luke 4:1-13

Sermon

Lori Wagner

It is not by strength that one prevails. (Hannah’s Prayer) Props: hiking boots or tricycle (you’ll need a child volunteer from the congregation for this) and matches (or one large match) to light a candle; oil Some of you have probably seen the movie Wild, based on the recent best-selling book. The story is about a young woman, Cheryl Strayed, who takes a long trek through the mountain trails of Washington State in order to deal with her “inner demons.” She is mourning the loss of her mother. She is trying ...

1773. Making Relationships Work

Matthew 5:21-26

Sermon

King Duncan

There is an old legend about a New England town that was suffering through all manner of dissension and back-biting. The people were constantly involved in petty feuds pitting neighbor against neighbor. One day, the people came together and consulted a wise pastor as to how they could resolve their differences. The pastor agreed to think on the matter and send them a letter soon detailing his judgement. A few days later, the pastor sat down and wrote his letter to the people, full of advice on how to make ...

1774. The Catch

John 21:1-14, John 21:15-25, Acts 10:1-8, Acts 10:9-23a, Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Props and visuals: fishing boat / fishing net / tablecloth and stick / backpack / diaper bag / purse or satchel You know how some dreams won’t let go of you? Sometimes God has a message for you, and speaks in this “forgotten language” of dreams. Sometimes God needs to prepare you for something that’s hard for you to hear. In our scripture story today as told in the Acts of the Apostles, God was preparing Peter for his visit with Cornelius. And for something even greater! But as everything goes with Peter, ...

1775. Born One Of Us

Drama

Production Notes This play, Born, One Of Us, is designed to be used in the church service at any time during the Christmas season; perhaps it is particularly appropriate for Christmas Eve. The play is preceded by three persons reading paraphrased portions of scripture (chapters and verses indicated) concerning Bethlehem. These readings should be read dramatically. The readers may sit in side or front pews. A music stand may be placed beside each one to be carried on and off for the readings. A litany, for ...

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