Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1951 to 1975 of 4943 results

1951. Seeing with Eyes Closed

Exodus 34:1-28, Exodus 34:29-35, John 1:1-18, Acts 9:1-19a

Sermon

Lori Wagner

When Joe Campos left for work on Long Island during heavy rains Monday a week ago, he never imagined he would return home entirely changed. Joe worked for Ramon Stone Construction Company. He had just lifted a heavy metal chain when he saw lightning hit the ground about 20 feet in front of him. It took less than a second to travel from there to him, knocking him to the ground. Joe described the experience as numbing his entire body at first, so that he couldn’t move. Eventually, he got up, went inside, and ...

1952. An Important Village with a Questionable Reputation

John 1:43-51

Sermon

King Duncan

According to a recent report from the BBC News, inhabitants of a village in northern Nigeria are celebrating the renaming of their village. The old name of the town was “Area of Idiots.” Wonder why they wanted to change it? “Area of Idiots.” The new name of the village is “Area of Plenty.” I believe you will agree with me that’s an improvement. The local emir announced the name change after residents complained that they had been mocked for years because of that name and were ashamed to tell people where ...

1953. Living By The Calendar Instead Of The Clock (New Year's)

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

Richard A. Wing

This is the time of year that we look toward 2016 with new resolve, or observe how far we have wandered from last year's resolutions. Have you ever noticed that New Year's resolutions look strangely familiar? As a matter of fact, don't they most often look exactly like last year's resolutions? Too often in this season we look at the resolutions we made for our lives that we never got started. I was in a spiritual life retreat once with a group of clergy who were talking about the joys and pains of parish ...

1954. But You Can't Get Water Out Of A Rock!

Exodus 17:1-7

Sermon

Steve Burt

"You can't get blood out of a turnip!" we've all heard (usually in response to a bill collector or a higher church budget). Or we've heard a variation, "You can't squeeze water out of a stone." We nod our heads in agreement with the speaker. After all, how can we argue with something so plain? The rational, analytical side of our brain says, "True, true, sad but true. You can't get water out of a rock." Oh, we of little faith. All we see is the rock. Every week when I need to come up with a sermon, I read ...

1955. A Law We Can Live With

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Robert S. Crilley

Many of you, I'm sure, have seen those public service announcements on television promoting the use of safety belts which close with the tag line: "A law we can live with." It's intended, of course, to be something of a double entendre -- the phrase "can live with" meaning both able to accept and able to survive. Whether it will actually prove an effective campaign, I suppose only time will tell. However, at the risk of appearing irreverent, it seems to me that the same could be claimed of the Ten ...

1956. Dad, Does God Play Football?

Drama

Karren Boehr

Theme: When Life's Priorities Need Changing Victory in one's Christian life often comes down to priorities, priorities that the world parades before God's people as everyday fare. However, sometimes "everyday fare" can rob us of the very life of Christ. Setting: An ordinary family living room Characters:FATHER: Energetic, an obvious football fanaticSON: Twelve to fourteen years old, warm, open, serious thinker Costumes: Modern casual at home dress; Son has on a football cap Props: Two chairs, or a chair ...

1957. Proper 12

Colossians 2:6-23, Hosea 1:1-2:1, Luke 11:1-13, Psalm 85:1-13

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

COMMENTARY Lesson 1: Hosea 1:2-10 God orders Hosea to marry a prostitute and have children. Hosea preached in the same eighth century to Israel (North) as did Amos. His ministry extended over a period of 38 years. Hosea lived in the final days of the northern kingdom during the reign of six kings following Jeroboam. Assyria captured Israel and deported the 10 tribes in 722 B.C. Hosea 1:2-10 is an allegory. His adulterous wife and three children symbolize the fate of Israel because of a broken relationship ...

1958. Proper 23

Exodus 32:1-33:6, Isaiah 25:1-12, Matthew 22:1-14, Philippians 4:1-9

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: The importance of accepting God's gracious invitation to the feast of life. COMMENTARY Old Testament: Exodus 32:1-14 Moses is meeting with the Lord on Mount Horeb and is away from the people for a long time. The people suspect that something perverse has happened to their leader and so they petition Aaron to make gods for them. Taking their jewelry, he fashions a gold calf and proclaims it the object of their worship. Seeing this unfaithfulness, God wants to destroy the people and make a nation from ...

1959. I Am The Good Shepherd

John 10:1-21

Sermon

Ronald Lavin

I am the good shepherd. -- John 10:11 (NRSV) These words of Jesus bring us into contact once again with the great I AM. Who is this good shepherd? The one who made heaven and earth, the one from whom we came and the one to whom we go. The Great I AM The situation seemed out of control. The woman was dying of cancer. She had nowhere else to turn. She had tried all the chemotherapy which had been prescribed. She had even traveled to Mexico for a new treatment that a friend had experienced. Nothing worked. ...

1960. Turning A Minus Into A Plus

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

Harold Warlick

One of the finest minds in our country belongs to a man named Charles Merrill. Charles' father founded a company called Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, a rather successful stock brokerage firm. With part of that vast wealth, Charles Merrill founded the Commonwealth School in Boston. The Commonwealth School has enjoyed a tremendous academic reputation. It has excelled in educating students from diverse backgrounds. On a cold, windy day Charles Merrill and a minister friend were walking to lunch, and he told the ...

1961. Come Out!

John 11:38-44

Sermon

Thomas Peterson

Years ago I had the rare privilege of hearing a lecture in which the question was posed, “Did the angels actually sing to the shepherds on Jesus’ birthnight?” Instead of tackling this directly and trying to prove an historical fact, the lecturer asked a secondary question, “Have angels quit singing?” Many testimonies give evidence they have not, he claimed. People still receive guidance from “voices” they call “my angel.” People listen to heavenly harmony and find their lives set in peaceful channels. God’ ...

1962. Runaway Lives

2 Samuel 18:1-18

Sermon

Robert Noblett

For cowboy lovers, the 1950s were golden. There were more cowboys than you can count on your fingers and toes: Hopalong Cassidy, and Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, The Lone Ranger, Lash LaRue and the list goes on. There were probably only a dozen or so basic scenarios played out in all their shows, and one of the classics was the runaway stagecoach. The driver became incapacitated, the horses went mad, the coach was full of terrified passengers, and along came Roy riding Trigger at what seemed like seventy-five ...

1963. I Saw a New Heaven

Revelation 21:1-27

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

Two ninety-five-year-old sisters died at the same time and went to Heaven. There they were overwhelmed by the magnificence and glory of heaven. They ooh-ed and ah-ed at the wonders they saw. They couldn’t get over what a matchless place it was. Then one said to the other, “You know, we could have been here five years earlier if you hadn’t insisted on our eating oat bran.” If you’re going to Heaven, the earlier the better, but let God appoint the time. There’s a barbershop quartet song that has these words ...

1964. We All Sin So What?

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

One day a young skeptic knocked on the door of a rectory. A priest opened the door. The visitor said, “Come out. I want to talk to you about a problem.” “No,” the priest replied, “You come in. I want to talk to you about your sins.” After Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, God came one evening and called to them, “Where are you?” Because they were afraid of what God might do to them for disobeying him, they hid themselves. At the end of the day God knocks on the garden door and says, “I ...

1965. Eating Living Bread

John 6:25-59

Sermon Aid

William E. Keeney

Most Americans eat well. Three square meals a day is not uncommon. Indeed, many eat five or six times a day if coffee breaks, evening snacks, and other times of eating are counted in addition to breakfast, lunch, and supper. Drive through a town of any consequence and count the number of fast food places and restaurants that are found. At some corners of major roads or along a block or two of a busy thoroughfare you may find five to ten feeding establishments. It is not uncommon to find in close proximity ...

1966. Advent 4

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

Theme: Both Old Testament and Gospel portray the theme of God building a house, a kingdom or a people. In the Old Testament text, King David desires to build a temple for God but finds out that God is going to be the One building a house (dynasty) of David's descendents. In the Gospel, Angel Gabriel informs the Virgin Mary that God is going to build up his Kingdom through the son she was to conceive through the Holy Spirit. COMMENTARY Old Testament: 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 David wants to build in Jerusalem a ...

1967. The Gospel Of Our Calling

Romans 4:1-25

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

A friend related to me how, when he was a youngster, he spent a lot of time on the other side of the block all wrapped up in touch football and whiffle ball and hide-and-go-seek. But there were other important events going on for which his folks knew he needed to be present, like going to church, mealtime, bedtime. So, they blew a whistle to call him home from the other side of the block. God also calls, not with a whistle, but with his Word. Martin Luther in his Small Catechism explains the Third Article ...

1968. The Return Of The Lost

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

Donald Dotterer

Let us pray: Gracious and eternal Father, today we come seeking to understand your purpose and your will for our lives. Help us to know that although we seek you, you have sought us first in love. Lord, grant us wisdom in these moments. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. One of the most common complaints that I hear about the medical profession is that many doctors are too detached from their patients. People tell me that doctors don't have time to listen to them because they are so anxious to get on to the ...

1969. Joseph's Story

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

Erskine White

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife." (Matthew 1:20) I am the forgotten person in the Christmas story. Oh sure, you all have little statues of me in your creche scenes at home and you set them out every year at Christmas time, but let's face it: people who look at your creche are looking at the Christ Child and His mother - they're not paying much attention to me. Even the shepherds and Wise Men (and a little drummer boy who wasn ...

1970. The Vanities Of Work

Ecc 2:1-26

Sermon

Erskine White

What do we gain from our labors under the sun? (Ecciesiastes 2:22) I want to introduce you to someone you may not know very well: the Preacher who. wrote Ecclesiastes. We ought to find him quite interesting; he is one of the most modern personalities in all the Bible. In fact, here is someone very much like you or me. He is a successful man by any measure of worldly achievement and he knows how to enjoy the pleasures of this world. But like many people today, he is also restless. He is looking for deeper ...

1971. His Spirit Is With Us

John 19:30

Children's Sermon

Object: a baby picture Good evening, boys and girls. Today is called Good Friday. We usually think of Good Friday as a sad day. But today I want to think of why it's called Good Friday. What happened on Good Friday? (Let them respond.) That's right, that was the day Jesus died. Our verse for today says, "Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." That's another way of saying Jesus died. Dying isn't a very happy thing to think about. (Hold up the baby picture.) What kind of a picture is this? (Let them ...

1972. Lent 4

Luke 15:1-7, Joshua 5:1-12, Isaiah 12:1-6, 1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5, 2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2, Luke 15:11-32

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The Fourth Sunday in Lent used to go by two names. The first came from the Introit for the Day - Laetare, or "Rejoicing" Sunday; it meant that the faithful pilgrims, who were keeping Lent, were halfway to their goal, the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord. This Sunday also became known as "Refreshment" Sunday, because the Lenten fast was more than half completed and the two-week period of the Passion of our Lord was only one week away. It might have been called "Recharge" Sunday, ...

1973. Rocky

Matthew 16:13-20

Sermon

William J. Carl

It is said that Winston Churchill never liked talking to subordinates. He always wanted to go to the top because he figured that was the only way he could get any action. So, as the story goes, when Churchill went to heaven, he met St. Peter at the gate and said, “Who are you?” When Peter said, “I’m St. Peter,” Churchill said, “To hell with you, get God!” How did poor Peter get this job in the first place? It all started with the story recounted in this text when Jesus renamed him “Rocky” and gave him the ...

1974. African-American Spirituality: The African's Gift To America

Exodus 3:1-22

Sermon

Carlyle Fielding Stewart

As we commence celebrations of Black History this month, I want to say what a wonderful thing that we have time for formal observances of the great contributions black people have made to world civilization in general and to America in particular. We are a great people who have literally and spiritually come a long, long way. We have built the pyramids and originated the mathematical, medical, and physical sciences. We invented the first alphabet and gave to humanity its first language and systems of civil ...

1975. God’s Ultimate Concern

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

Walter Kimbrough

The Bible records one of the most moving stories ever told. It is the account of God’s giving the ten commandments to Moses. This mountaintop experience was a most excellent setting for the revealing of such a historic document. “The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain… (Exodus 19:20 NIV).” In other words, God and man had a summit meeting -- God came down and man had to go up. We must note that God had a very special relationship with Israel. They were no ...

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