Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1951 to 1975 of 2844 results

1951. A Thinking Person’s Thankful Prayer

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

Dr. Wayne Dehoney, a Baptist pastor in Louisville, Kentucky, tells of a college freshman who attended his first dormitory prayer meeting. Rather unexpectedly he was called upon to pray a sentence prayer. The young man had a slight speech defect which became pronounced when he was under pressure, and thus he prayed: "Lord, make us more thinkful for all our blessings." That young man prayed a better prayer than he realized. Our English word thank stems from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "think," and certainly ...

1952. A SUNDAY OF THE PASSION [PALM SUNDAY] SERMON-DRAMA

Drama

Tom Eberle

The Sunday of the Passion [Palm Sunday] Modern reformers of the church calendar suggest that the observance of the passion of Christ be limited to Holy Week instead of extending it through the Lenten season. Because of this emphasis, the Sunday before Easter is designated the "Sunday of the Passion" rather than "Palm Sunday." The story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem might appropriately be used as part of the processional on Passion Sunday, but the focus of the day should be on the inauguration of the week ...

1953. Dessert in the Desert

Deut 32:10-12 · Ez 37

Sermon

Robert Noblett

On one occasion our family went to a park for a picnic, and as my wife and I sat watching our children play, we beheld the most unsettling of sights. There was a child, perhaps eleven months of age, playing in the sand next to his mother, and he was eating handfuls of sand the way you and I consume handfuls of Planters Peanuts. One of his siblings brought this matter to the attention of his mother and her comment was, "Don’t worry about it; it won’t hurt him!" After watching him wolf down a few handfuls of ...

1954. God and the Weather

Matthew 5:45; 16:2-3 · Psalm 18:7-11; 46:1-3, 11

Sermon

Robert Noblett

Imagine for a moment that you are a person who has a great deal of difficulty in sustaining a conversation once you have met a person. After initial introductions, you draw a blank. It wouldn’t surprise me a bit that if in 99% of these situations what you end up talking about is the weather. "Sure is hot today, isn’t it?" "Think it’s going to rain? Sure looks like it." "These weather forecasters, you can never trust them! They said yesterday there was only 10% chance of showers and our picnic was rained on ...

1955. The Un-Parade

Matthew 16:21-28, Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

Robert Noblett

In the section of the country where we live, February and March are always cold and slushy months. So come April, nothing dampens my ardor for the coming of spring. I’m ready for it! Part of the reason I am ready for it is the fact that warm weather means the return of parades, and as the song says it, "I love a parade!" A community in which we lived some years back boasted the first Bicentennial parade in the nation, and well do I remember a family’s invitation to share that event with them from the bluff ...

1956. Onesimus

Isaiah 43:1-13

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

It is the middle of the first century A.D. Our scene is a prison, possibly in the Asiatic seaport Ephesus. In a dark little cell, mustiness permeated the air, mold clung to the wall. An earthen floor was packed smooth by the treading of countless prisoners. Sunlight crept through a tiny window at the ceiling. There was a crude table and a smoking lamp where a young man was writing. An older man paced the floor, dictating - sometimes in a torrent of words, then silence. A rattling sound broke the stillness ...

1957. Jesus Makes House Calls

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Pentecost XII Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were ...

1958. Jesus ... Who?

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." [Matthew 16:13-16] Supplementary text: Matthew 17:1-9 When Jimmy Carter first started campaigning for the presidency in 1976, the slogan in some parts of the ...

1959. Little Things Affect Little Minds

Sermon

Harold Warlick

A prominent executive entered his secretary’s office for a confrontation. He was there to raise an unpleasant issue. For several days his discomfort and anger had built up like an internal volcano. It bothered him when he ate and prohibited restful sleep. Like an unfriendly ghost, the problem haunted him. He had talked about it with his wife and his friends. Finally he could take it no more. So there he stood, at his secretary’s desk, ready for the attack. He jerked himself up on his toes and, pointing his ...

1960. The Good Samaritan Didn’t Leave His Name

Sermon

Harold Warlick

When Jesus of Nazareth walked this earth, he continually met people trying to justify themselves. These people tried to show themselves to be righteous and acceptable for God. One particular lawyer, evidently a man who had done much good, put Jesus to a test saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him with the poignant and lasting parable of the good Samaritan. I read the parable of the Samaritan many times before I grasped its full significance. The Samaritan performed ...

1961. How To Be A Saint In A Storm

Acts 27:13-26

Sermon

Barbara Brokhoff

How do you act in a storm? A friend, who is terribly afraid to fly, was invited to speak at a special gathering of the religious body of which he was a part, in Frankfurt, Germany. As he approached the airport in New York a terrific storm was taking place. He dreaded the trip, and now that the storm increased in velocity, he was sure that the flight would be cancelled. He continued to think this, even as he approached the ticket desk, and finally was ushered aboard his plane. He began to think seriously ...

1962. When Yes Means No and No Means Yes

Matthew 21:28-32

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

What’s your opinion? If you have two sons, and you tell one of them to do a job, and his answer is no, then afterwards he does it, and you tell the second one to do the same job and his answer is, "Sure, I’ll go," and he doesn’t do it, which one is doing what you told him and following your will? That’s the story Jesus told the crowd, and that’s the question he posed to the religious leaders of his day. The crowd answered Jesus by saying the son who said, "No," and then changed his mind and did the work ...

1963. Life: Sacred or Stupid?

John 20:1-9

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

The phrase "while it was still dark," is greatly suggestive. The darkness was not only a description of the earliness of the morning, but it was a description of all people without firm belief in the Resurrection of Christ. Without that knowledge, as St. Paul has said, "we are a bunch of miserable human beings," because we have no understanding of the eternal and sacred character of human life, and for anyone trying to live it, it is a process of stumbling along in the darkness. At the earlier Family ...

1964. Drastic Surgery

Matthew 5:27-30

Sermon

Herchel H. Sheets

In February, 1966, a young surgeon from India, then a resident at a St. Louis Hospital, took a radical step in an attempted reconciliation with his estranged wife. She was a staff physician in Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, and was living in a dormitory there. The surgeon called a taxi driver to his apartment door and gave him a package which he asked him to deliver to his wife’s room. His wife’s roommate answered the knock at the door and accepted the package. It was blood-soaked, and when she opened ...

1965. Signs Of A Vital Church

2 Corinthians 2:12--3:6, 2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

A few years ago First United Methodist Church in Abilene, Texas, bought a new sign or marquee. The message on the sign could be changed each week. The purpose was to advertise the church to the thousands who passed by daily on a busy highway. A decision was made to let each Sunday School class be responsible for the message on the sign for one week. The Bible Class was first. Their message read: "The Church Visitors Never Feel Like Strangers." The following week the slogan was produced by a young couples ...

1966. The Names of the Christ-Child

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

Christmas is finally here. In the minds of children it has taken forever. For them the last few weeks have moved as slowly as butter in a new frigidaire. This morning they discovered at least some of the items under the tree about which they wrote to Santa some weeks ago. I love children's letters to Santa and collect some of the more interesting ones. Several of my favorites are these: "Dear Santa, I tried to be good this year, but it just didn't work out." Sounds like a Methodist child. "Dear Santa, this ...

1967. Breaking News: Thomas Doubts Jesus Alive

John 20:24-31

Sermon

CSS

For the past two weeks I have had a knot in my stomach. Holy week and Easter were joyful events here in our church and I'm still excited about this being the Easter season. That's not what has me anxious. Along with most of you, I have been watching the news closely and praying about the mid-east conflict. For more than a week there were suicide bombings every day. Some of those suicide bombers even children. And then there is the possibility of our going to war with Iraq again. Incredible news stories ...

1968. Wimps Become Warriors

Acts 2:1-13

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the most Potent agent of change on earth. When the church is alive and well, people are continually being changed. Therefore, I am always alert for stories of change. One of my favorites comes out of a rural area near Cairo, Georgia. Two brothers grew up on a farm there. One brother took to education like a duck to water. He graduated from Georgia Tech and became a renowned engineer in Chicago. The other brother was content to stay home and farm. Some years later the learned ...

1969. With What Shall I Come?

Micah 6:1-8

Sermon

James Bjorge

On that wondrous night long ago a ragged little boy watched the three wise men bring their costly gifts for the Christ Child. His eyes filled with tears as he thought, "If only a pearl would fall from the hand of a king, then I could go too. But I am ashamed to go. I have no gift for the Saviour." The little lad was about to turn and run for the hills. Suddenly an angel appeared before him and said, "Give a gift that is closest to your heart." So he did. They say that the Bethlehem star gave an extra ...

1970. Solomon and the Outline for Renewal

2 Chronicles 7:11-22

Sermon

Don Yocom

This text in Scripture is the one on which the hand of President Dwight D. Eisenhower rested when he was inaugurated as President of the United States of America. It is such a striking passage of the Bible, it deserves our consideration for renewal needed in our day also. The background story involves the time of the dedication of Solomon’s temple. Solomon had prayed all night to God in an act of personal dedication; and as the highest representative of the nation, his prayer was also an act of national ...

1971. Remember Lot’s Wife

Luke 17:20-37

Sermon

Don Yocom

Judgment is a broader thing than we surmise. It reaches into the very substance of things in life. Actually, all of life comes under its scrutiny, for we are constantly being judged. Jesus was most popular when he fed the multitude, in his earlier ministry; but as he began to bear down in his preaching, people turned away to the extent that, at one time He asked His disciples if they, too, were going to leave Him. Jesus showed His knowledge of the Bible (the Old Testament in His day) by His reference to ...

1972. How Do You Like Yourself?

1 Peter 3:8-22

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

Tell me, what do you think of yourself? How do you feel about living with you? You know, the precedents aren’t too encouraging. A man that we call Saint Peter cried out: "O, Lord, keep away from me, for I am a sinful man." A man whom we call Saint Paul had the words wrenched out of him: "O, wretched man that I am." And the great king, David, cried out in the Psalm: "I am a worm" - I am a worm! - "and no man." Or make it more contemporary. A teenage girl in my study stated her problem honestly: "People don’ ...

1973. Chapter II

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Frank H. Seilhamer

"I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; You will have no other gods before me. You will not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you will not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but ...

1974. Snoring through Sermons

Sermon

Michael J. Anton

TRINITY (General) As you may have noticed, the theme listed in today’s bulletin after "sermon" is Snoring Through Sermons. I suspect some might read that line with some delight, wondering what we’re really going to say about the guy who’s been sitting in front of us, nodding Sunday after Sunday. And the guy who has been doing the nodding may well be sitting in fear and trepidation, wondering what we are going to say about his sleeping habits. The matter of napping through sermons has become the source of ...

1975. COURIER

2 Chron 30:6; Esther 3:13

Illustration

Stephen Stewart

Have you ever stopped and really thought about the fantastic task of moving the mails? Or considered the weary mailman plodding along through all kinds of weather? Well, perhaps, having lived through the postal strike here in America, you are somewhat more aware of these citizens who are responsible for getting our mail to us. I’m sure that the people in England are even more aware of their dependence on the mails, since their strike lasted much longer than ours. We all know jokes based on the mailman’s ...

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