Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1901 to 1925 of 4508 results

1901. His Unique Contribution

Illustration

Brett Blair

Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ's 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men, who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity. Jesus painted no pictures yet some of the finest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received th...

1902. The Burden Bearing Christ - Sermon Starter

Illustration

Brett Blair

There is a wonderful legend concerning the quiet years of Jesus, the years prior to his visible ministry. The legend claims that Jesus the carpenter was one of the master yoke-makers in the Nazareth area. People came from miles around for a yoke, hand carved and crafted by Jesus son of Joseph. When customers arrived with their team of oxen Jesus would spend considerable time measuring the team, t...

1903. Planting the Seeds

Illustration

Brett Blair

There was a woman once who wanted peace in the world and peace in her heart, but she was very frustrated. The world seemed to be falling apart and her personal life wasn't that great either. One day she decided to go shopping, and she went to the mall and walked in to one of the stores. She was surprised to see Jesus behind the counter. She knew it was Jesus because he looked just like the paintin...

1904. Broken Dreams

Illustration

King Duncan

In his book Horns and Halos, Dr. J. Wallace Hamilton tells about one of the weirdest auction sales in history; and it was held in Washington, D.C., in 1926, where 150,000 patented models of old inventions were declared obsolete and placed on the auction block for public auction. Prospective buyers and on-lookers chuckled as item after item was put up for bid; such as a "bed-bug buster" or an "illu...

1905. We All Need Help

Children's Sermon

Kenneth Mortonson

Purpose: To encourage children to seek help when they need it. Material: A hearing aid. A pair of glasses. (Borrow them, if you do not have either of these.) Special Procedure: If possible, be seated when you are talking to the children. Lesson: This morning I have something I want to show you that you may not have seen before. Does anyone know what this is? ... (A hearing aid.) And what is it ...

1906. That Is SO God!

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Every great comedian strives to create their own personal brand. Every world-class comedian has a distinctive stamp within their act. A really successful comic knows he or she has made it when the public begins to automatically equate their name with a particular comic shtick. Let's see how well you do. Jack Benny was always what? The cheapskate. Larry, Moe, and Curly mean an eye poke, a nose h...

1907. Patience

Sermon

Will Willimon

"Be patient, therefore,...until the coming of the Lord." I begin this Third Sunday in Advent here in the Chapel preaching on the necessity for Christian patience. Advent is the Christian season of waiting and expectancy. Therefore it is also a season of patience, because what we really need in life can't be ours merely by wanting it. It must come as a gift from God, in God's own good time. Patien...

1908. Advent 3

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Our Old Testament lessons for the third week of Advent explore hope. Isaiah 35 proclaims the inevitability of God's salvation, even when we find ourselves at a great distance from Zion in situations that appear to be hopeless. Psalm 146:5-10 is a hymn of praise that calls us to trust in God because of God's enduring reliability. Isaiah 35:1-10 - "Hope for the Hopeless" Setti...

1909. Proper 9

Sermon Aid

Marion L. Soards, Thomas B. Dozeman, Kendall McCabe

OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS Genesis 24 is the story of how the servant of Abraham searches for a wife for Isaac in Mesopotamia and finds Rebekah. Psalm 45:10-17 is the second half of a Marriage Song that focuses on the bride. Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67 - "A Story with Many Heroes" Setting. In many ways the testing of Abraham in Genesis 22 (the lectionary lesson for last week) concludes the Abrah...

1910. Breaking Through in Little Ways

Illustration

When Jesus tells John's people what to look for, it's not big, grandiose stuff. As concerns signs of the kingdom, Jesus points to people who couldn't see much, seeing more...people who couldn't climb out of bed in the morning, playing Ring Around the Rosie in the townsquare...Previously untouchable lepers kissing their wives and hugging their children....and the poor, hearing a good sermon for a c...

1911. Pay Better Attention

Illustration

Annie Dillard tells of the pastor whose pulpit prayer included some wonderful petitions for the betterment of life in this world. Then, before signing off, he included these words: "But thou knowest, O God, that we ask for these same things Sunday after Sunday. So we confess to you our discouragement that so little progress is made." Said Annie: "His prayer was so painfully honest that I knew I ha...

1912. Have Your ID Ready

Sermon

King Duncan

Think of the last time you had to show some proof of your identity. Maybe you used your library card to check out books, or you used your student ID to get discounted tickets, or you showed your driver’s license to gain admission to a concert. Most adults have some form of proof that we are who we say we are. But if you don’t have any physical proof, how can you convince people of your identity? ...

1913. John and Frank

Sermon

John Jamison

Have you ever had doubts about what you believe? I mean really had doubts? You were so certain of everything, but over time questions started arising. Or maybe something happened that shook you really hard, and you began to wonder if all that you believed in was real? Can you relate to that at all? That’s where we find John in today’s scripture. He had spent so many years being the powerful prea...

1914. The Succession

Sermon

Lori Wagner

The wildly successful show on HBO called “Succession” is a satire of a wealthy media empire, whose patriarchal mogul is aging. Those vying to succeed him in the business offer varied and conflicting ideas about how the companies should be run, but their tempestuous leader has no current intention of passing the baton. The dark comedy portrays the power, wealth, and often underhanded “politics” of ...

1915. Are You the One Who Is to Come?

Sermon

King Duncan

1916. When You Are Weary

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

One of the amazing facts about the human race is how alike we all are. We share most of the same hopes and dreams, likes and dislikes. Even in a world of almost 8 billion people, there are certain universal things that most people agree on. To prove this, I’m going to read a series of statements. If you agree that a statement is true in your life, raise your hand. Here’s the first one: I’m a rea...

1917. Rest

Sermon

William G. Carter

I don’t know of a more inviting invitation: “Come to me and I will give you rest.” Jesus speaks to the woman who cannot sleep, to the child who is anxious, and to the man is bone-tired. Come ... rest. The invitation is gentle, not forceful. He speaks from a level place, a humble place. His invitation includes all: “all you,” or as they say in the South, “y’all.” There’s not a single person exclude...

1918. The Paradox of the Yoke

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Most people would not prefer to be fastened into a yoke. Yokes are rigid. They are entrapping. They are hard, and they are inhibiting. Yet, you wouldn’t want to plow a field without one –if you lived in the first century that is. Think of it perhaps this way. You’re going on a hike through the wilderness. In order to survive well, you carry a fairly heavy, bulky backpack on your back. It may feel...

1919. Couldn’t Be Easier

Sermon

Frank Ramirez

You’re not supposed to mess with holiday traditions, but we do. A couple of years ago a shock wave ran through the Face-book community. Peanuts specials like It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and especially A Charlie Brown Christmas were purchased by one of those special platforms and would no longer be broadcast on network television. Even though the days are long past when the family gather...

1920. Jesus as God’s Wisdom Is a Hidden Reality

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

Big Idea: Rejection of Jesus as God’s wisdom both deserves judgment and fits a divine pattern in which truth is hidden from the wise and revealed to unexpected ones. Understanding the Text In this passage Matthew’s Jesus critiques various Galilean towns for failing to respond to his message of repentance (see 4:17). As in 11:2–5, the miracles that he has done are directly linked to this message ...

1921. The Current Generation

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

After focusing on Jesus’s identity in relation to John and the petulant response of “this generation,” Matthew 11 continues by emphasizing Jesus’s judgment on the current generation that has seen the miracles Jesus has done but has not responded with appropriate repentance (11:20–24; for Jesus as judge, cf. 13:40–42; 25:31–33). Capernaum, Jesus’s home base (8:5), and Chorazin (two miles from Caper...

1922. Woe On Unrepentant Cities

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

11:20–24 Although the crowds listened to Jesus gladly (Mark 12:37b), there followed no serious change of heart. They rejected the austerity of John and the open-mindedness of Jesus. The very towns where Jesus had performed most of his miracles had neither recognized him as the Coming One (11:3) nor turned from their sins. Thus, instead of blessing (11:6), they are to receive woe (v. 21). That the ...

1923. Give Me A Break!

Sermon

Larry Goodpaster

Jesus was having one of those days! You know the kind of day when nothing goes exactly the way it was planned. The kind of day when staying in bed seems to be an option that should have been taken the first thing in the morning. The kind of day when the only words spoken to you, or at you, are words of criticism and sarcasm. The kind of day some of us have far too often. That was the kind of day J...

1924. The Easy Yoke

Eulogy

Richard F. Bansemer

Death after long illness The meditation text is Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."Sometimes it seems as though these words of Jesus haven't been read by the church of the twentieth...

1925. Power to the Faint

Sermon

Dennis Kastens

At that time Jesus declared, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to revea...

Showing 1901 to 1925 of 4508 results