Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1926 to 1950 of 2561 results

1926. A Gospel that Fills the Glove

Sermon

James Bjorge

I was sitting in my office staring blankly into space. Then my leather gloves which had been thrown on my desk caught my glance. They were limp and lifeless. I reached over and picked one of them up and slipped my right hand into it. The gloved filled out. I flexed my hand - the glove moved. It was filled with life. My mind began to dance with the thought of God coming to earth to slip into the gloves of human lives. He came to fill them out so they would pulsate with life ... so they could be and do ...

1927. Christmas Concern

Sermon

James Bjorge

The other morning after picking up the mail at the post office there was an abundance of Christmas cards. Later on in the morning I was sitting in my church office and the coffee urge arose in me. So I called my wife and announced, "Say, wife, I’ll be home in a few minutes for some coffee and Christmas cookies ... and, by the way, I picked up the mail and there’s a real bunch of Christmas greetings." She replied, "Great, see you soon!" I couldn’t help but retort, "Are you glad because you will see the mail ...

1928. Worn Out? Tired? Weary?

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

In both his Letter to the Galatians and his Letter to the Thessalonians, Saint Paul, without equivocation, admonishes us all NOT to be weary. And then, paradoxically almost, in 2 Corinthians, we find that he is after all, human himself, and he admits that he himself has often been weary. Perhaps it’s the most used expression in our conversation: "I’m tired! I’m beat! I’m dead! I’m weary! I’m worn out! I’ve had it!" Christian people are supposed to feel beneath them the everlasting arms. Instead, they feel ...

1929. Molehills and Mountains

Matthew 6:25-34, Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

The story is told of George Bernard Shaw that he was once seated beside a Duchess at a dinner party. In the course of their conversation, he asked: "Tell me, Duchess, would you live with a man for a million pounds?" "Well," replied the Duchess, "I suppose I would" Then Shaw asked her: "Would you live with a man for five pounds?" The Duchess was insuited: "What do you think I am?" "We’ve already established that," said Shaw, "now we are just determining the price." Long before the coming of Christ, the ...

1930. Whispering The Lyrics (revised)

John 14:15-31

Sermon

Thomas Long

Many of you probably have stashed away in a drawer somewhere around your home the old 45 rpm records. If you have some from the 50s and early 60s you will have Elvis' grinding out "Hound Dog," Buddy Holly and the Crickets' hiccupping "Peggy Sue," Chuck Berry's joyful hot licks in "Maybellene," the Coasters' slapstick tour de force "Charlie Brown," the mournful "Tears On My Pillow" by Little Anthony and the Imperials, the impenetrable and probably scandalous "Louie, Louie" by the Kingsmen, and the teenaged ...

1931. CHARIOTEER

Jeremiah 51:21; 1 Kings 9:22

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

Jeremiah 51:21 - "... with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer." 1 Kings 9:22 - "But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves; they were the soldiers, they were his officials, his commanders, his captains, his chariot commanders and his horsemen." A chariot was a two-wheeled vehicle used mainly in war, although at first this was true of the other nations rather than Israel. Actually, because of its terrain, chariots were largely unsuited for use in Palestine, and for that reason, the ...

1932. Pillars of the Church

Exodus 17:8-16, Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

A young woman named Linda was driving alone through the lonely area from Alberta, Canada to the Yukon. She spent one night in one of the rare hotels in the area. The next morning in the breakfast area she was seated near two truckers. They asked where she was going. She said "Whitehorse." "In that little Civic?" they asked. "It's dangerous this time of year in this kind of weather." Linda replied, "Well, I'm determined to try." "In that case," one of the truckers said, "We're just going to have to hug you ...

1933. The Land of Beginning Again

John 8:1-11

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Have you ever had the experiencing of making a mess out of something, and longing for a chance to start over with a clean slate? Most of us have. Most of us yearn for the kind of place described by Louise Fletcher Tarkington: "I wish that there were some wonderful place In the Land of Beginning Again; Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door And never put on again." There is such a place. You are in it. The Church, especially when it celebrates Holy ...

1934. When The Word Became Flesh

John 1:1-18

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Here we are in the heart of the Advent season. Most churches are preparing for Christmas pageants of various kinds. Usually children are involved, and therefore things don't always go according to script. In one pageant I heard about, the innkeeper of Bethlehem was played by a boy named Ralph. He had very much wanted to play the part of Joseph, but that part was given to someone else. Ralph decided to take some revenge. On the day of the play, the fellowship hall was filled to capacity. Mary and Joseph ...

1935. The Trinity

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Brett Blair

A preacher proudly boasted that he does not preach doctrinal sermons. They are boring he asserts and people do not understand or relate to them. Further, he claimed, I am a preacher and not a theologian. I get down do the practical issues and simply preach Christ crucified. His thinking is faulty at several points. First, he is wrong when he says that he is not a theologian. The fact is that everyone to a certain extent is a theologian. Theology is nothing more than what you think about God. Well, shouts ...

1936. Even The Bosses Wash Feet!

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

About two years ago Michael Jordon, the world's greatest basketball player, announced his retirement. Later he repented and returned to the hardwood. But at the time of his retirement the owner of his Chicago Bulls team said this: "Michael is living the American dream. This American Dream is to reach a point in your life where you don't have to do anything you don't want to do and can do everything you do want to do." That is the American Dream, isn't it? Even we Christians yearn for a situation in which ...

1937. At The Manger By Invitation

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

I know of a certain family which has for years spent a Saturday in mid-December finding and bringing home the right Christmas tree. They do not buy a tree off a lot. Instead, they prefer to go to a tree farm. There they spend much time selecting the tree that is just right--not too tall, not too thin, with just the right shape. Then the tree is cut down and brought home. Last year the choice was very difficult. Not because there weren't a lot of beautiful trees available. The problem was that the youngest ...

1938. Overcoming Fear

Mark 4:35-41

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Many years ago when I was a young preacher, I noticed that a new family had moved into a neighborhood not far from our church. So I dropped by late one afternoon. I noticed that one car was parked in the carport. I went to the side door, the one opening onto the carport. I had rung the door bell only once when I heard a deep, bass growl that sounded like the rolling of thunder. It was coming from the back of the carport and it made the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up. I glanced to my left and ...

1939. Fear

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

Brett Blair

In the story of creation found in the Book of Genesis, we read where Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit, something which had been specifically denied them. Knowing that God is searching for them, they attempt to hide. It is a scene perhaps reminiscent of many of our childhoods when we had done something that we were not supposed to and we literally hid from our searching parents. Finally God finds them, as we know that He will, for, after all, where can we go to hide from God? God asks them ...

1940. Returning to Genuine Religion

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

Donald Macleod

There is a simple poem by Louise F. Tarkington which goes in part this way: I wish there were some wonderful place Called the Land of Beginning Again, Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door And never put on again. What has this to do with the return of the Jewish exiles from seventy years in slavery in Babylon? Everything! Because, as they left Babylon behind and turned their faces toward their homeland, they carried a lot of mental baggage along ...

1941. One’s Proper Service

Isaiah 58:1-14

Illustration

Larry Powell

I read that a member of a United Methodist church in North Carolina was once convicted in court for disrupting church services because of his atrocious singing. It was in 1873 that William Linkhaw was hauled into county court in Lumberton, Robeson County, N.C., by fellow Methodists who charged that Linkhaw’s singing repeatedly created havoc during worship services. Not only was his voice offensive to the ear, but he was given to singing long after the rest of the congregation had stopped. Things had become ...

1942. The Centurion - Arranging Death, Announcing Life

Mark 15:33-41

Sermon

Carl E. Zahrte

Was I there, did you ask? Yes, I was there all right. I had to be. I was the man in charge of the soldiers who crucified Jesus of Nazareth. It was a day I’ll never forget, the day when the sun refused to shine. You won’t find my name in the Bible, but if you study any of the traditions associated with the death of Jesus, you may learn that I was called Longinus. But my name is not important. What you should know is that I carried out the arrangements for the crucifixion. As I did my job and watched what ...

1943. Egypt: Unlikely Refuge

Matthew 2:13-18

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

If you plan a pilgrimage in the footsteps of Jesus, you probably will not include Egypt in your itinerary. What does Egypt have to do with Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Jordan River, and the Sea of Galilee? Egypt is exciting as the land of the pyramids and the Sphinx, but we don’t instinctively think of it as part of our Master’s story. But it belongs to his story, in a strange and wonderful way. You’ll find it in the Gospel of Matthew. When the wise men came looking for Jesus, they stopped in Jerusalem to seek ...

1944. The Suffering Servant

Drama

Curt M. Joseph

Characters: Caiaphas - High Priest in Jerusalem; an able person, perhaps a bit weak; not always sure that everything he is doing is correct. Annas - the ex-High Priest in Jerusalem; father-in-law of Caiaphas; seen as the real power "behind the throne." Temple Guard - very formal in his approach. Judas - he waivers between very sure of what he is doing and rather unsure. The play opens with Caiaphas, working alone at his desk in his office. After several moments he is joined by his father-in-law. Guard: ( ...

1945. Stewards of Life, Death, and Beyond

Matthew 6:19-24

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

Buddy Hackett told a story on the Johnny Carson Show which was about "bad news and very bad news." A medical doctor called his patient and said, "I have bad news and very bad news. The bad news is that you are terminally ill and will die in 24 hours." The patient couldn’t imagine anything worse than that and so asked to be told the very bad news. The doctor replied, "The very bad news is that I should have called you yesterday!" The news in the recent past has been bad and very bad and full of life and ...

1946. Mother Teresa and the Dying Poor

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

Jesus took his closest followers up on the side of a mountain for a spiritual retreat. There he tried to teach them about Christianity. One of the great promises he gave them was, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7). Seventy-six-year-old Mother Teresa of India knows what Jesus meant. She knows it like few people have understood since he first said it. Not long ago this tiny wisp of tough gentleness, who won the Nobel Peace prize, visited Norristown, Pennsylvania. There she ...

1947. Shepherds and Bathrobes

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Thomas Long

Sometimes the events described in the Bible bowl us over with their sheer size. The picture in Genesis of God commanding light and darkness to go their separate ways, summoning the seven seas like chargers, and, with a word, drawing up the massive continents from the primordial ooze of the formless earth. That’s scale! Or, hundreds of thundering Egyptian chariots dashing headlong after the fleeing Hebrew slaves. Suddenly the once dry gap in the sea is invaded by a violent wall of water, foam filling the ...

1948. I Am The Good Shepherd

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

Everyone, it seems, is interested in my numbers. I go to the grocery store to buy some groceries. After the checkout woman rings up my bill, I pull out my checkbook and write out the check. She takes it from me. She looks at the information. Numbers tell her where I live. Numbers tell her how to reach me on the telephone. "Is this information correct?" she asks. "Yes, it is," I reply. "May I see your driver’s license?" she asks. She looks at my driver’s license and writes some more numbers on my check. ...

1949. A Cup Running Over

John 11:17-37

Sermon

James W. Robinson

It was getting too hot too risky - for Jesus in the Jerusalem area, and he thought it prudent to get away from town for awhile before his enemies could do him harm. The Pharisees had threatened to stone him, and, on another occasion, to arrest him. So he and his disciples hurried to a remote district in TransJordan, "to the place where John at first baptized, and there he remained" (John 10:40). He had been there about three months when some messengers, sent by his good friends Mary and Martha of Bethany, ...

1950. How Can We Meet Grief?

2 Samuel 18:19--19:8

Sermon

Edward Chinn

Across thirty centuries, comes this cry of grief from David, whom God called from being a shepherd of herds to be the shepherd of His people, Israel. David had a son named Absalom. Absalom had murdered his brother because that brother had raped his sister, Tamar. After being accepted back into the family, Absalom had led a rebellion against his father, the king. That rebel son had won the Israeli army to his side. In a dramatic showdown in the woods of Ephraim, Absalom rode through the forest away from his ...

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