Showing 1801 to 1825 of 4508 results
Children's Sermon
Robert B. Lantz
Object: Pocket crosses Good morning, boys and girls. When we look back to the life of Jesus, one of the first things that comes to mind is the cross! In fact, the symbol of the cross is one of the most honored and recognizable of Christianity. It has been fashioned in jewelry, it is used to decorate churches and homes, and there are songs about it. Why do you think the cross is so prominent in th...
Children's Sermon
Wesley T. Runk
Object: Symbol of James How many of you know what it is like to be the smallest one in the group? Did any of you have friends who are bigger, or big brothers and sisters so that it seems like you are always the smallest one around? If you know what it feels like to be the smallest one in a crowd, you will know what one of the disciples of Jesus felt like. His name was James and he had a brother M...
Children's Sermon
Kenneth Mortonson
Purpose: Learning to use silence. Materials: Homemade cookies to share. Lesson: This morning I want you to try to find something. It is always here, but it can be easily lost. It can be lost by our own actions, but it requires the help of others to find it. Let us see if we can find it together. Do you know what we are looking for? ... It is almost here. There it is. SILENCE. (Do not say anythin...
Sermon
Robert G. Tuttle
Emerson once wrote words that sound almost like an invitation to death: And now my chains are to be broken; I shall mount above these clouds and opaque airs in which I live ... Life will no more be a noise; this day shall be better than my birthday; for then I became an animal; now I am invited into the (experience) of the real. - The Poet Recently a college student wrote me, "I think it is proba...
Sermon Aid
Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe
OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The Old Testament lesson of Hagar's salvation in the wilderness follows immediately upon the story of Sarah's miraculous birth that was the lesson for last week. Thus  Genesis 21:8-21 provides a second story of salvation, but the context for understanding salvation shifts somewhat from last week. Instead of a miracle story to underscore how anything is possible for God—as was ...
Sermon Aid
Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe
OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS The Old Testament texts for this Sunday are about divine testing.  Genesis 22:1-14 is the story of how God tested Abraham in commanding the sacrifice of Isaac, while Psalm 13 is a lament that provides liturgical language for how we approach God during times of testing. Genesis 22:1-14 - "To Fear God Is to See God" Setting.  The story of  Genesis 22  is sinister. God's command...
1807. We Replace the Lamb
Illustration
In that marvelous vision known as the "Peaceable Kingdom" (which we find in Isaiah 65), there is the image of the wolf and the lamb feeding together. Well, let me tell you a story about that. Back in the days of pre-perestroika Russia ... when hers was a name that made all of us tremble:  the Russians brought an exhibit to the World's Fair that was entitled "World Peace." In it was a large cage. A...
Sermon
King Duncan & Angela Akers
Have you ever committed yourself to a project or a goal, and then changed your mind? Have you ever thought, “Maybe I bit off more than I can chew. This is going to take more time, more energy, more of me than I expected”? And then anxiety steps in. And regret. And we have two choices at this point: double-down on our commitment to that project or goal or walk away and admit that we weren’t prepare...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
“Your mission, if you choose to accept it…..” Everyone knows this famous line from the show “Mission Impossible.” In the show, Phelps receives his challenge mission via some kind of device. After he’s heard it, the device explodes or evaporates or otherwise disappears. From there, he must either accept the mission and go forward into his next adventure. Or he can apparently decline. The choice is ...
Sermon
William G. Carter
The more we read the Bible, the more we see things we might wish Jesus never said. This passage is one of them: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Did any of us come to church today to hear him say that? This is the season for family reunions. Most of us have been in gatherings that include fathers, mothers, grandparents, and ...
Sermon
Lori Wagner
A little bit of honey goes a long, long way. Who doesn’t love honey! It’s smooth, it’s sweet, and so, so good. The unlikely source? Bees! Furry little insects that swarm and sting. And yet, they make the sweetest nectar imaginable. For a long while, humans persecuted bees. We swatted them, sprayed them, wanted to eliminate them from our lives. They felt like unwanted pests. Now, we realize the h...
Sermon
William G. Carter
Some years ago, my wife and I landed on the mystical island of Iona. Located off the western coast of Scotland, the small island has an abbey that traces its roots back to the sixth century. The abbey has been rebuilt over the last eighty years, and it now serves as a center for conferences and spiritual retreats. We arrived on an August afternoon in time for  the evening worship service. Taking ...
Drama
Robert F. Crowley
Theme: We can miss the man, Jesus, if we become enthralled with His works. We can miss the Father if we cannot see Jesus. Summary: A slick public relations person is telephoning Jesus to set up a glitzy itinerary to promote Jesus' ministry. Jesus tells him He doesn't need that. (A monologue) Playing Time: 3 minutes Setting: Anywhere Props: A mobile phone Costumes: A sharp suit Time: The present...
Sermon
Mark Radecke
"What did you go out into the wilderness to look at?" Jesus asks the crowd. "Someone dressed in soft robes? Those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet." The crowds went out to see one arrayed not in comfortable soft raiment but in the rugged prophet's garb of camel hair and leather. The old saw has it ...
Sermon
John Jamison
This passage has puzzled me. The story is pretty simple; John the Baptist sends some of his followers to talk to Jesus, to ask him if he is really the Messiah they have been waiting for, or if they should keep looking. Rather than getting into a bunch of theological jargon, which God's Son could probably do even better than most preachers, Jesus simply tells them to look around at what they see go...
Sermon
Johnny Dean
H. A. Williams, one of the leading preachers and theologians of the Church of England, titled his autobiography, Someday I’ll Find You. That may seem like an unusual title for an autobiography, but if you read the book, as I did when I was a seminary student, it begins to make sense. You see, there was a period in Dr. Williams’ life when he was almost totally incapacitated by phobic anxieties. He ...
Children's Sermon
Brett Blair
Exegetical Aim: Knowing Jesus is God's promised one who was to come. Props: I do not use any props in the text but a letter with your name on it or other items that identify you may be used. Work them in at the appropriate time. This Children's Sermon must be adapted to fit each person’s family name and vocation if someone other than the minister is giving it. If you are a teacher by vocation bri...
Sermon
Bill Bouknight
It is impossible to go through life without being criticized. If you try to accomplish something, you will be criticized. If you are satisfied to loaf, you will be criticized for that. I heard about a department store that made a big fuss over its millionth customer. The store president made a speech in her honor. She was given gifts. Her picture was taken for the paper. After these ceremon...
Sermon
Gregory J. Johanson
A local pastor for ten years, the author of a number of publications in the area of pastoral care and counseling, WILLIAM B. OGLESBY, JR., has been from 1952 to the present Marthina DeFriece Professor of Pastoral Counseling at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. He is a past president of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education and a Diplomate of the American Association of Pastoral Cou...
Sermon
Maurice A. Fetty
It has already caused a stir in the minds of many. Long- held doubts have surfaced. A steady skepticism seems to be reinforced. The college cynic seems to be confirmed. And the village atheist smiles in self-congratulation. But there it was nevertheless. Time magazine's cover story asking whether the Bible really can be verified from an archeological point of view. Were the patriarchs, Abraham, Is...
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
This week's gospel reading stretches over two separate pericopes. Each has a distinct message, and each shares some common concerns. Both are within Matthew 11 a chapter devoted to answering a single question. In 11:2, the imprisoned John the Baptist sends his disciples to Jesus to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" Although Jesus' first response uses positive im...
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
Matthew is closing out his treatment of the emergence of Jesus' preaching, teaching and healing ministry (4:12-11:1) and opening up a more dialectical section in which he focuses just as intently upon the response Jesus' works and words evoke as on the events themselves. The crowds and the disciples lap up Jesus' words and deeds. But the religious authorities are growing more restive and rigid, co...
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
This week we continue in the season of Advent, the season of preparation for the Incarnation. The gospel text for this week reminds us of all the divinely-laid groundwork that paved the road to redemption. Matthew concludes with Jesus’ words to his own disciples as he sends them out on their missionary travels. But surprisingly, Matthew’s text returns to the figure of John the Baptist. For those o...
Drama
Arley K. Fadness
Theme: Difficulty of believing and the possiblity of doubt turned into faith Characters: Grandfather Willard Adamson Grandson Joey (eleven years old or younger) Slick (skeptic neighbor) Tone: Nurturing relationship, encouragement Setting/Props: Imaginary tool shed Paintbrushes Paint Imaginary old-fashioned well pump Cup Y-shaped stick One option that may enhance the scene would be an actual o...
Teach the Text
Jeannine K. Brown
Big Idea: Matthew demonstrates Jesus to be the Messiah, who signals the kingdom’s arrival by his acts of healing and preaching of good news and confounds human expectations by embodying the wisdom of God. Understanding the Text This passage begins a two-chapter account of various responses to who Jesus is and to his kingdom message among the Jewish people of Galilee. Beginning with John the Baptis...
Showing 1801 to 1825 of 4508 results