Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1951 to 1975 of 2561 results

1951. You Don’t Really Feel That Way

Job 6:1-7:21

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

As a young soldier I was on my way to the Pacific Theater. The trip was at the height of World War II, with troop ships easy targets. To avoid the enemy our ship wove an irregular pattern across the ocean. The trip to Manila took 36 days. I was not a good sailor. Between sea sickness and infections, I was on sick call more than half the days. At one period I knew I had naso-pharyngitis, a condition for which I had often been diagnosed. On sick call, the doctor said, "Well, what’s wrong with you," not in a ...

1952. The Good News of the Cross

Hebrews 4:14-5:10

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

Do you love God? Wait a moment. Wait a moment before you answer, and think, because you are in danger of perjuring yourselves. Quite frankly, I’m deeply suspicious of people who are always running around saying how much they love God. You see, I remember the words of our Lord: "You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said, ‘This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’" I am confronted with the fact that such a man as Saint Paul was constantly tortured by the ...

1953. The Racial Gap

Psalm 53:1-6

Sermon

William McKee Aber

We’ve been thinking, during this pre-Lenten season, of some of the gaps that exist between us - gaps of generations, or sex, between neighbors, and so on. It has been our contention that God has a word for the gaps, and in Jesus Christ has provided a means to bridge them - from the little ones to the big ones. Today - Race Relations Sunday - we stop to look at the racial gap, and as we do we find ourselves enmeshed in confusion! There once was a time when I knew what to say on Race Relations Sunday, when ...

1954. Everyone Has a Somebody

John 15:1-17

Sermon

Charles L. Koester

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." How many times have we heard in our lifetime our Lord’s Eleventh Commandment repeated? How many sermons have I preached on love, and have you heard? Yet, in spite of words and commandment, everyone has a somebody whom they cannot love. Somebody is not always the same person, at the same time, in the same place. True as well for the comedian who jested, "There are people in this world who do not love one another, and I hate people like ...

1955. Sharing with Our Brothers

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

Ewart E. Turner

Paul wrote this appeal under great emotion. Word had come to him of the joyous sacrifices made by the impoverished churches of Macedonia when they learned that their beloved leader Paul was collecting money for the persecuted mother church in Jerusalem. With justifiable paternal pride, Paul overflows with joy at the free initiative of love exhibited by his "children" in the infant churches of Macedonia. A father and mother in an Ohio city recently told their pastor of a "first" in the life of their small ...

1956. The Very Nearness Of Holy Week

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

We were sitting at the side of the road - near where it begins its incline toward the gate to the City. We could see the dust of the road being kicked up into a great cloud off toward Bethany. It was a sure sign that a large group of pilgrims was coming. The dust of the air began to be mingled with the shouts and cries and singing of the people. It was a happy mob that walked by us, and surged toward the arching stone gateway to Jerusalem. They were escorting a young man into our Holy City. He was seated ...

1957. Recognizing The Hidden

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

This is an account of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Two men were walking the wide, dusty road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. It was a day’s journey in those first century years. The men talked of the recent crucifixion, of the Romans, of the fearful priests, of the good man, Jesus, who had given so much of himself to others, only to be crucified to death for his trouble. As the Palestinian sun crept toward the western hills the two were joined by a third a stranger, and lonely, on that highway ...

1958. Clean Light

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Sermon

William F. Dunkle

Puritans love this scripture seemingly above all other. Oh, probably not really, but it so often seems so when overly pious people start proof-texting against what most of us think are normal and general social practices. A most distinguished overseas divine was delivering the famous Cole Lectures at Vanderbilt University just as Nashville, Tennessee, happened to be stirred up over an approaching local option election to legalize the sale of alcoholic beverages. Some enthusiastic young church people asked ...

1959. Advent 4: Let Us Go Over To Bethlehem And Find The Christ of Christmas

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

James W. Moore

This sermon is based on Luke 2:1-7: The Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful and costly tombs in the world. The colorful legends which surround the building of the Taj Mahal are all fascinating. But, there is one that haunts and disturbs. Shah-Jahan, the powerful Mogul emperor, was in grief. His favorite wife had died. He loved her deeply and he was devastated by her loss. He decided to honor her in a signal way. He would construct an incredible temple, the likes of which the world had never seen. The ...

1960. On His Way

Matthew 21:1-11

Sermon

Larry Powell

See in your mind’s eye a city that has doubled in population almost overnight. The city is Jerusalem and faithful Jews have converged upon the holy city from great distances to celebrate the Passover. They have come from every country district and all the lands of the Diaspora. The Jewish historian, Josephus, recorded that as many as 1,000,000 pilgrims came annually to the feast. Families were reunited, friends renewed acquaintances, spirits were high, and from the Temple priests down to the simplest ...

1961. Whom Do You Sit East Of?

Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

Richard L. Eslinger

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness has come up before me." Finally the evil of the Ninevites had provoked the Lord God to action. Yahweh had had enough. A prophet was needed who would proclaim the word of judgment to the enemy. Jonah, son of Amittai, was chosen for this mission - to cry out against the wicked of Nineveh. But as we all know, this "prophet" rose to flee from the presence of the ...

1962. Behold! Chariots of Fire!

2 Kings 2:1-18

Sermon

Richard L. Eslinger

Elisha had been with Elijah for what seenied like a long time. It began in the most dramatic way: Elijah lamenting that the people of Israel had all forsaken the covenant, everyone in Israel bowing the knee to false gods; Elijah complaining, "And I, even I only, am left." But the Lord God refused to let the prophet just hide out there in the wilderness. So Elijah was sent back to do battle against the idolatry of Israel and to anoint a new king. And Elijah was also given a successor who would be anointed ...

1963. What If It Is True?

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Much of this sermon’s appeal, though not all of it, lies in its close identification with the hearer’s experience - the thoughts, the pains, the fears, the objections. Acknowledging that there is "another way," other than that herein suggested, that which the text calls for may mean pain, certainly surprise, the sermon yet invites the hearers to move into the unknown - forgiving, loving - because, well, because "You have found favor with God." Is that all there is? Yes, that is all, but that "all" is ...

1964. Faith As Healing Energy

Sermon

Robert G. Tuttle

Most doctors would agree with Norman Cousins, who wrote recently in a national magazine, "The belief system is often activator of the healing system."1 Faith actually affects the chemistry of the body. It can be so specific that it has been called "Spiritual energy injection." Faith makes a difference in health. Through faith (trust), energy channels are opened between the Creator and the created and our bodies begin to function as they are designed to. Even when we feel as though we’re cornered, we are ...

1965. Ode to Wisdom

Job 26:1--31:40

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

This is an Ode to Wisdom - wisdom that is not discovered in computer banks, nor taught in schools and colleges, nor learned from parents, nor symbolized in Wall Street winnings. "Where, then, shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?" (v. 12). In this age of new enlightenment, in our high tech society, this Ode to Wisdom simply doesn’t fly. When God came down from heaven to survey the Babel tower that the people back in Genesis 11 had designed, he was both amazed and amused. This ...

1966. Questions Without Answers

Job 42:1-6

Sermon

Alton F. Wedel

The Word today is the bottom line in the book of Job, the story of the man from the land of Uz who was blameless and upright and who feared God and turned away from evil. The man had prospered. He had seven sons and three daughters, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 she-asses and very many servants. We could say that he belonged to the affluent society, a rather rare type in his day because the record makes it clear that he was the greatest man of all the people in the East. We will take the ...

1967. The Reality Of The Resurrection

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

Brett Blair

Here we are in the year 2003. It still fills me with a bit of awe that I witnessed the turn of the millennium. We are looking back this year and celebrating some amazing things that happened, things that seemed impossible in their day. There are three major celebrations. Perhaps you are aware of them: We are celebrating a centennial: 100 years ago few people thought it possible that man could fly. No one except the two sons of Rev. Milton Wright who at 10:35 on the morning of Dec. 17, 1903 made their first ...

1968. The Advent Hope

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

T. A. Kantonen

A few years ago a United States submarine sank off the coast of New England. The rescue operation led to the discovery of the disabled vessel in the bottom of the ocean. When the divers approached the submarine, they heard a tapping sound from the inside. When they stopped to listen, they heard this message tapped in Morse code: "Is there hope?" That is the question still tapped from within the depths of the human heart. In the hour of tragedy and of impending death it is most poignant, but hope is never a ...

1969. Ready or Not - Here I Come

Mark 13:32-37

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

When you were a child, did you play the game, Hide and Seek? If you did, you will remember that the person who was "it" closed his eyes while the rest went to hide. To give them time to hide, the child started counting: 5, 10, 15, 20 and up to 100. Then he would say, "Ready or not, here I come!" The point of the game was to hide oneself so well that the leader could not find you, for if he found you, and beat you back to the goal, you had to be "it" the next go-around. The secret of the game was preparing ...

1970. The Long Lonliness

Romans 13:8-14

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

The Beatles surprised the world in the 1960s and took the United States by storm, introducing a new era in popular music. And many of us were pleasantly surprised by the deep insights expressed in rather direct and poignant lyrics. In "Eleanor Rigby," for example, they sing of a woman picking up rice at a church where a wedding has been. Holding the rice, peering through a window, living in a dream she someday will wed, death comes instead. As she lived alone, so she died alone. And so the Beatles lament, ...

1971. The Unexpected Universe

Matthew 11:1-19

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, Isaac, and Jacob, mere legendary characters with no real, historical existence? Was Moses pure myth, as my former ...

1972. The Star Thrower

Matthew 2:1-12

Sermon

Maurice A. Fetty

O Star (the fairest one in sight), We grant your loftiness the right To some obscurity of cloud – It will not do to say of night, Since dark is what brings out your light. Some mystery becomes the proud. But to be wholly taciturn In your reserve is not allowed. Say something to us we can learn By heart and when alone repeat. Say something! And it says "I burn." -- Robert Frost, "Choose Something Like A Star" The Star of Bethlehem associated with this holy season was taciturn and mysterious. It was lofty ...

1973. Salvation Includes Social Justice

Jeremiah 23:1-8

Sermon

Mark Ellingsen

On this last Sunday of the Church Year (we call it Christ the King Sunday) our attention is directed to the reign of Christ — to his glorious reign which has already begun with the resurrection on Easter. It is a Sunday to think about salvation, because where Christ reigns salvation is effected. These themes are especially evident in our First Lesson. Jeremiah conducted his ministry in Judah (the Southern Kingdom of the Hebrews ruled by David’s heirs and centered in the great capital of Jerusalem) in ...

1974. At The Potter's House

Jeremiah 18:1--19:15

Sermon

John W. Wurster

(Note: This monologue is from the point of view of an imagined contemporary of Jeremiah.) I was down at the potter’s house yesterday. Have you been recently? I haven’t see you there. In fact, I haven’t see many people there at all recently. Nobody much comes to the potter’s house these days. It’s certainly not how it used to be when the potter’s house was a gathering point for the community. Well, you know how people would come just to watch the potter work with the clay. We would just stand there and ...

1975. The Fruit of Forgiveness

Genesis 45:1-28

Sermon

Harry N. Huxhold

One of the outstanding personages of the modern era was Howard Hughes. Mr. Hughes was regularly featured in the news from the 1920s through the 1970s. He set world speed records in his day for air travel. He designed and produced new planes. He contributed much to the advancement of commercial air travel. He produced motion pictures in Hollywood and made considerable innovations in that industry. He managed and enhanced the oil drill tool industry he inherited from his father and became the second richest ...

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