Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1851 to 1875 of 4935 results

1851. It Was Only Fair

Romans 12:9-21

Sermon

Larry Lange

The blizzard was kind enough to have shown up on Friday evening, so that when it had finished rattling our windows and dumping about ten inches of perfectly packable snow, we were not in school and had an entire day to enjoy it. By Saturday afternoon, we had shoveled our own driveway and sidewalk. Our neighbor, Mr. Schmidt, had finished hours before, because he apparently made enough money to afford a snowblower. His was the first snowblower on our street. Mr. Schmidt felt he needed a snowblower, because ...

1852. Faith vs. Good Works

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

Scott Suskovic

In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul touches on a topic that has captivated Christians and fragmented churches for centuries. What is the relationship between our faith and good works? If I am saved by faith alone, then what are my limits? Paul puts it this way [note the quotes]: "Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything." And then he injects an extreme example: "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ ...

1853. Religion and Politics

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Religion and politics - in years past we were told those were two subjects that were not good for pleasant conversation. In the church, many of us grew up hearing that religion and politics should be kept strictly apart - "separation of church and state," after all. But in recent years, we have been treated to regular helpings of both from every point on the partisan spectrum. There are regular references to personal faith by candidates on the right and left. The relationship between religion and politics ...

1854. Keep Watching, Keep Warning, Keep Chasing

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When you turn sixteen, what’s the most important thing in the world? Any 16-year-olds here? Anyone want to take on that question? That’s right. Getting your driver’s license. In most states, if you are under the age of eighteen, you now need to take “Driver’s Ed” before you can qualify for a driver’s license. That means students have already had to learn all the “rules of the road,” those traffic signs and signals that foretell and forewarn about what lies ahead on the highway. Reading the signs — those ...

1855. The Voice-activated Life

2 Peter 1:12-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

When parents are trying to teach their very young children basic social skills one of the first big lessons is “Use your words.” Instead of grabbing, hitting, screaming, or crying, we teach our children to communicate their needs and desires through the use of words. Instead of snatching a toy away from another child we teach our kids to say “May I please play with that for a while?” Instead of screaming and throwing a tantrum, we teach our children to say, “I’m really mad,” or “He was mean to me,” or “She ...

1856. A Call for Repentance - Ash Wednesday

Joel 2:12-17

Sermon

King Duncan

A young man, active in his church, is talking with a friend named Andy. Andy is a fellow believer who has called him on the phone. They hadn’t spoken in some time. Suddenly the young man blurts out, “Where is God, Andy, where is the God we sing about and pray to all the time?” Then he reveals why he senses God’s absence. He is broke. He hasn’t eaten a complete meal in two weeks, his rent is behind, the water and electricity are disconnected and on top of that he has no money to fill his prescription and he ...

1857. A Man with No Name

Mark 10:46-52

Sermon

King Duncan

Jesus and his disciples were passing through the city of Jericho, a beautiful city some fifteen miles northeast of Jerusalem. Jesus was at the height of his popularity, and great crowds greeted him as he came into the city. Although we don’t know for certain, perhaps Jesus spent the day teaching in Jericho, which might explain why the people were so excited about having him visit their city. But regardless, as Jesus was leaving the city he encountered some desperate people with nowhere else to turn. Let me ...

1858. Israel's Misery

Micah 7:1-7

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

Jerusalem Mourns Its Sin: Chapters 6 and 7 in Micah form a dialogue between God and the people, and specifically between God and Jerusalem. In the court case of 6:1–8, we saw an exasperated and impatient Israel indicted by God. In support of that indictment, the sins of Jerusalem were specified by the Lord, in 6:9–16. Now, in 7:1–7, a repentant Jerusalem recognizes its sinfulness, mourns the anarchic state of its society, and turns to its one source of hope, its Lord. Some commentators maintain that the ...

1859. Jesus Claims God-Given Authority to Condemn the Leaders

Mark 12:1-12, Mark 11:27-33

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

Big Idea: In 11:27–12:34 Jesus responds to a series of questions and challenges from the religious leaders. Jesus answers their first two challenges, concerning the source of his authority (11:27–33), and then he goes on the offensive, using an allegorical parable to accuse them of plotting to kill him (12:1–12). Understanding the Text The central event on Tuesday of passion week is a series of five controversies that take place in the temple court. This event has two foci: (1) the leaders are trying ...

1860. Unnoticed at Your Own Party

Isaiah 35:1-10, Matthew 11:2-11, James 5:7-10

Sermon

King Duncan

W.E. Sangster once told about being invited to a party held to celebrate a wedding. He arrived late and knew nobody there except the friend who invited him. He subsequently played the role of a mere spectator to the evening’s festivities. Everyone, he noted, seemed to be in high spirits. They danced and shouted and sang and laughed and played games and indulged in all sorts of entertainment. They flung streamers across the hall, pranced around in paper caps, had much to eat and drink and generally seemed ...

1861. Job's Third Reply to Bildad

Job 26:1--31:40

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

26:2–4 · Eliphaz, early on, was the first to praise Job for his past help and counsel (4:3–6). Bildad, having heard Job undermine traditional understanding and now indict God for cosmic negligence, shakes his head in disbelief. “How is it possible that this man ever helped the powerless and offered sound advice? How is it that he utters what he does?” 25:2–6 · Bildad now crafts his theme: the dominion, awe, and order of God. The second line of his thesis statement (25:2b) is literally “maker of peace in ...

1862. Just Who Does This Guy Think He Is?

John 6:56-69

Sermon

Rick McCracken-Bennett

"I think he's speaking in metaphors," Stephen said. "I don't care if he's speaking in Chicago, he's getting downright spooky," replied Andrew, not one of the twelve. Jesus had been speaking for what seemed to be days to a crowd made up of his disciples, hundreds of them, as well as his twelve nearest and dearest disciples. Bread, bread, and bread... it was all he seemed to be talking about. It was enough to make a person hungry. They all knew stories about how God provided for his people who had escaped ...

1863. Stop Talking and Start Walking

Luke 24:13-35, Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Lori Wagner

It’s late. You’re driving in unknown territory. It’s dark, and visibility is limited. You have no idea where you’re going, but you are following the directions of your navigator, trusting that Waze knows the “ways” you should go and will get you there safe and sound. All you need to do is “pay attention.” Stop listening, and you may end up in farmer Brown’s cornfield or worse on a dead-end road to nowhere. Everything depends on your willingness to trust the navigator and focus on the sound of its voice! ...

1864. Jesus Meets Our Needs

John 2:1-11

Sermon

Derl G. Keefer

Weddings symbolize the hope of the future for people who are in love. They symbolize to commitment, undying love and the best in each other’s company. It is at such an occasion that the first miracle of Jesus happened. The wedding took place in Cana of Galilee not far from Nazareth. It is the small village where Nathanael lived and he is the one who had said, “Can anything good come from there?” (John 1:46). Cana and Nazareth obviously were rival communities. Yet, it is here that Jesus, his disciples and ...

1865. Prayers for Family Days

Bulletin Aid

Rolland R. Reece

Family Issues There comes the moment, Loving Spirit, when we are devastated by the news of a loved one's tragedy. What should our first response be? What can we say or do for our loved one and for the family members who so lovingly surround him? How should we pray? How we wish we could say, "There, there, now, I'm sure everything will be okay." Or if we can't offer words, surely there must be something we can do. Perhaps we can locate a new specialist, a new medicine, a new diet, a new prayer -- something ...

1866. The Sadness Of God

Isaiah 51:17--52:12

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel tells a haunting story from the concentration camps. One day some Nazi guards ordered their Jewish prisoners to leave their barracks and assemble in a courtyard. They informed them that some were now to be executed by hanging. They announced no particular offenses. The guards were apparently drunk and thought this would be entertaining. They had arranged a gallows and chose several Jews, among them a sixteen-year-old boy, to die. As the rest watched in horror, the prisoners ...

1867. Rules For A Happy Life

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

America's premier Protestant preacher of the early part of this century, Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, once told a story from his early days as presiding minister of the great Riverside Church in New York. It seems that Fosdick, liberal by theological standards of the time, was turned off by much contemporary preaching with its emphasis on sin and threat. He vowed he would place his emphasis on the love and forgiveness of God. One day a man who had attended Riverside for several months approached Fosdick to ...

1868. Words As Images

Sermon

Michael Rogness

... we are addressing a generation accustomed to acting primarily on visual stimuli ... In our modern age the preacher must therefore translate the biblical message into one that awakens all the senses, into words that cause a congregation also to see and feel and smell and taste. Otherwise the people listening may never hear the words in which the gospel is framed.15 -- Elizabeth Achtemeier The printed word communicates by a line of thought. Television communicates by images. Clearly we must use language ...

1869. Proper 8

Luke 9:57-62, Galatians 5:16-26, 1 Kings 19:9-18, Psalm 16:1-11, Luke 9:51-56

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Three days from the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, in 1992, the minor festival of Mary Magdalene will be observed in many churches around the world. Some people will remember her as a woman who was converted from a sinful life of prostitution to a faithful and devout disciple of Jesus Christ. (Most Lutheran churches in the United States did not celebrate her "day" until the appearance of The Lutheran Book Of Worship, with a revised calendar, in 1978.) Others will remember her for her ...

1870. What Christmas Is About

Isaiah 9:1-7

Sermon

Robert Beringer

Charlie Brown isn't the only one who asks, "What's Christmas all about?" Real people also ask that same question. Several years ago there was an exchange student from Indonesia, spending his first December in America. The crowds of shoppers in the stores, the Santa Clauses, the bright lights, the trees, the manger scenes, the parties, and the growing sense of excitement and revelry - it was all more than a little confusing to him. Then one night as he satwatching television with his host family, the ...

1871. Trouble on the Mountain

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Sermon

A man was riding on a train. He was pacing back and forth and one of his kids was yelling, "Papa, Papa, I want a glass of water. I want a glass of water." The harried man just kept walking back and forth, and the kid kept yelling. Finally, the man smacked the kid on the seat and told her to shut up. A nice old lady across the aisle stopped him and said, "Mister, I'm going to call the conductor and make trouble for you!" The guy said, "Lady, you're gonna make trouble for me? That kid there is my Becky; she ...

1872. Never Underestimate The Power of a Cup of Cold Water

Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon

Brett Blair

Now I would like to stop the world for just one minute and ask you to think back. Think back with me to the first century. Think about those 50 years after Jesus’ death and what it must been like for Jesus’ disciples. Before the last one died their efforts had brought 500,000 men women, and children into the ranks of the church. But what they had to suffer in order to accomplish this task is seldom discussed. We like the outcome of their discipleship but we don’t want to hear the cost of discipleship. So ...

1873. All We Like Sheep Have Gone Astray

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

In the middle 1960s, a seminary student interned in a Lutheran congregation in Berlin, Germany. This intern was much interested in the history of World War II, since he was born about the time his father was fighting in Germany. However, he soon discovered that most of the members of that congregation did not want to talk about the war. It was too painful. But one day, an uncle of one of the intern’s friends came to see him and shared this personal story.1 He was an engineer on the train from Amsterdam to ...

1874. The Forgotten Virtue

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

An author by the name of Vardis Fisher has written a novel, which I have not read, but I suspect that the title suggests more than all of the material that might be included in that volume. The name of the book is Forgive Us Our Virtues. Forgive us our virtues - it’s a prayer that we all might offer. It’s quite easy to pray "forgive us our trespasses"; the higher devotion allows us to say "forgive us our virtues." Benjamin Franklin is often quoted for his homely wisdom as a guide for those who search for ...

1875. Face To Face With God

Mark 9:2-13

Sermon

King Duncan

H.G. Wells once told a fascinating story. It is about an Episcopalian bishop, though he could have been a cleric in any denomination. He was the kind of man who could always be counted on to provide a pious platitude. He had a favorite answer that always served him in good stead. When troubled folks came to him, he would assume his best stainedglass voice and ask, "Have you prayed about it?" If said in just the right way, no more needed to be said. The bishop himself didn't pray much. After all, his life ...

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