Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 1951 to 1975 of 2273 results

1951. In the Shadow of His Brother

John 1:35-42

Sermon

King Duncan

A priest at a parochial school, wanted to point out the proper behavior for church. He was trying to elicit from the youngsters, rules that their parents might give before taking them to a nice restaurant. “Don’t play with your food,” one second grader cited. “Don’t be loud,” said another, and so on . . . “And what rule do your parents give you before you go out to eat?” the priest inquired of one little boy. Without batting an eye, the child replied, “Order something cheap.” (1) Some of you with children ...

1952. What If You Truly Were Born Again?

John 3:1-21

Sermon

King Duncan

“It’ll be dark soon,” a character says in the 1968 western Firecreek, starring Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda. Then he adds, “Things happen at night.” (1) Well, they do happen at night. Take our lesson from John for example. “Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night . . .” So begins one of the best known stories in Scripture . . . and also one of the most important. Nicodemus probably came under the cover of night because he was ...

1953. Voice in a Vacuum

Genesis 12:1-8

Sermon

Tony Everett

At first reading it seems as if today’s text is all about Abram’s journey from relative obscurity to universal fame; from being a childless husband in a tiny and insignificant family to becoming the founding father of a great multitude of nations. Now what would it look like if we read this story with God as the main character? What would it look like if we examined the text from the perspective of God’s initiating action instead of Abram’s immediate faithful response? After all, it’s pretty intimidating ...

1954. Remember the Rooster

John 18:25-27

Sermon

King Duncan

There’s an old story that many of you may remember. It’s about a little boy who was visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced many times with his slingshot, but he could never hit any of the targets he aimed at. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for lunch. As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let fly with a rock from his slingshot. As luck would have it, he hit the duck square in the head, ...

1955. Let It Go

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Sometimes what we think is most familiar is also the most unknown. Take the case of one Midwest family. The matriarchs of the family had passed along a time-honored recipe for the traditional Easter ham. Along with the list of spices and herbs, rubs and glazes, cook times and basting procedures, was the absolutely strict instruction that the last three to four inches of the ham must be cut off — completely removed. This order was an integral part of the recipe that their great-grandmother had passed down. ...

1956. Where the Church Gets Its Power

John 17:6-19

Sermon

King Duncan

It’s an exciting thing to be part of the church of Jesus Christ. We’ve got a good thing here, and we need to let the rest of the world know just how exciting it is. There’s an old story about a young high school football star who was being recruited by a coach from a major college. The coach had never seen the young man play, so he asked him some direct questions. “Son,” he said, “I understand that you do the passing for your team. Are you a pretty good passer?” “Am I a good passer?” the boy answered. “Why ...

1957. The Nano-Punch of Pentecost

Matthew 28:16-20

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

The soul has its seasons. “There is a time to be born, a time to die.” The Bible has its seasons. The biblical New Year begins at the appearance of the first "new moon" of spring, when nature comes to life. The West has its seasons. The New Year begins in the depths of the winter, which is often when the new comes, in the midst of winter, the soul most often coming to life in the wintry seasons of life. The church has its seasons. In the church our “seasons” are not determined by climate changes or a ...

1958. Follow the Directions

Psalm 119:9, 18, 89

Sermon

James Merritt

There is one thing in common with every single person on this planet who has ever been born and who ever will be. It has never been more illustrated than it has in the 21st century. We have an unquenchable thirst and an insatiable appetite for information and communication. We want to know who is doing what and we want to know what people are doing. We’ve never been more saturated with information and more soaked with communication than we are today. From cell phones, to television, to email, to radios, to ...

1959. Don’t Be a Trender - Be a Trendsetter

Matthew 15:21-28

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

... of the most mundane, everyday circumstances. Jesus spent his earthly ministry serving and selecting individuals — a paralytic, a leper, a sick servant, a demon possessed (mentally deranged) man, and in today’s text, the truly ill child who did not belong to one of the “twelve tribes,” but was nonetheless a child of God. But Jesus did not train his disciples to defy the crowds, or to succumb to the crowds, or to withdraw from the crowds. He taught them how to live with them, love them, and show them ...

1960. Dust Off The Throne

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16, Luke 1:26-38, Romans 16:25-27

Sermon

David J. Kalas

When I was a kid, my parents would host several Christmas parties each year — one for each of the adult Sunday school classes from our church. In preparation for each party, my mother would employ me in vacuuming the living room, mixing the punch, lighting the candles, and such. One task that invariably came before the first party of each Christmas season involved the silver tea set. It was a lovely set, but we seldom used it apart from the annual Christmas parties. Consequently, when December rolled ...

1961. Table Manners

John 2:12-25

Sermon

Craig MacCreary

Perhaps it is the oddity that I am writing this on the Monday before Thanksgiving or it is my proclivity to identify food with each passing holiday that, as I approach these texts, I find myself thinking of another text from Psalm 23: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the Fourth of July and I am dreaming dreams of sugar plum fairies, turkey legs, chocolate bunnies, and barbecues. This is definitely a job hazard for clergy. Most congregations revel ...

1962. I'll Never Forget That Night

John 13:1-17

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

Years ago, a band called Lobo sang about an international memorable event. Describing the impoverished plights of a boy from Chicago’s racial ghetto and a girl living among India’s “Untouchables,” the singers went on to shake their heads in wonder that both, on a “July afternoon,” along with the entire population of planet earth, heard and saw Neil Armstrong “walk upon the moon.” Some incidents are so unusual or catastrophic or fraught with meaning that they cannot be forgotten, and all who were alive ...

1963. An Annual Reminder

John 20:1-9

Sermon

David J. Kalas

In the opening verse of our passage from the epistles, the apostle Paul writes, “Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news....” That might well also be the opening line of our sermons this Sunday. After all, it is Easter. The calendar compels us to return to the foundation and the heart of the gospel message. And the people who will fill our pews this Sunday — some of them barely familiar to us since we last saw them on Christmas Eve — already know what we’re going to tell them. I ...

1964. Spiritual Marines

Luke 9:18-27

Sermon

James Merritt

A few years ago there was an eye-catching commercial on television sponsored by the United States Marine Corps. They had one that shows a young man fighting, and then slaying a fire-breathing dragon with an Excalibur-like sword. At the end of that commercial, with that sword gleaming in the light, decked out in that resplendent dress blue uniform, the commercial ends with these words: “The Few-the Proud-the Marines.” Do you know what the Mission Statement of the Marine Corps is? On their Website that I ...

1965. Love Sender

John 3:1-21

Sermon

James Merritt

Without even trying kids can teach us some of the greatest life lessons and when you are a kid you learn some of the greatest lessons in life. I want to share with you a lesson that I learned as a child. It all revolves around this gift [open gift – take out gumballs and a Milky Way]. Now here is the story behind this gum and this candy bar. When I was a child, I had saved enough money to do something I had never done before at Christmas which was to buy my parents a Christmas gift. I had saved up a dollar ...

1966. Satisfied Customer

John 6:25-59

Sermon

James Merritt

Well just who is this man known all over the world as “Jesus?” It is a fascinating question and when I was up in Canada recently I was able to ask a lady named Ingrid that very question. We had a chance to get into a spiritual conversation and she said she had rarely gone to church growing up except at Christmas and Easter and it had been many years since she had been in any kind of church at all. I asked her if she would mind us talking about spiritual things and she admitted that she hadn’t had a ...

1967. Lost

Luke 15:1-7

Sermon

James Merritt

Have you ever lost something of value that was really, really important that really mattered to you and you couldn’t find it? Once you realized it, what did you do? You dropped everything you were doing and immediately went looking for it. Do you remember when you found it? Do you remember the joy, the relief and the happiness that you felt? Maybe it was your car keys or your wallet or a credit card or even a wedding ring. How many of you have ever lost a kid? I can tell every one of you this. If you have ...

1968. It's All Good

Revelation 21:1-27

Sermon

James Merritt

It was Easter Sunday. The Children’s Bible study class was packed. The teacher had talked about Good Friday and Easter. After thinking that she had carefully explained what had happened that weekend she decided to see how much of the story the kids remembered. She said, “Would somebody like to tell me something they remember about either Good Friday or Easter? One little boy said, “The cross was very heavy and a man had to help Jesus carry it.” Another little boy said, “I remember it got dark as night and ...

1969. Surviving the Big One

Matthew 18:10-14

Sermon

James Merritt

Men, when it comes to women, there is one thing that is absolutely true. Women, when it comes to men, there is one thing that is absolutely true. You’ve heard it before, “You can’t live with them and you can’t live without them.” There is some truth in that old saying and here is why. Relationships are messy. Relationships are just like newborn babies. Every once in a while they mess on themselves and you have to clean them up. You would think that families would have it together. The people who are ...

1970. Signed, Sealed, and Delivered

2 Timothy 3:10--4:8

Sermon

James Merritt

Every week that you walk into this church you hear me say something that actually begs a very big question that deserves to be answered. For example, I am going to tell you right now to take your Bibles, or your smart phone, or your tablet and [Turn to II Timothy 3]. Then as we do every week we read a passage from the Bible. This particular passage says this, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,that the man of God ...

1971. Don't Forget the Bread

John 6:25-59

Sermon

The wonderful writer Max Lucado tells about a time his wife Denalyn called as he was driving home. “Can you stop at the grocery store,” she asked, “and pick up some bread?” “Of course,” he said. “Do I need to tell you where to find it?” she asked. “Are you kidding?” Max asked. “I was born with a bread-aisle tracking system.” Like a knowing wife, Denalyn said, “Just stay focused, Max.” “She was nervous,” says Lucado. “Rightly so. I am the Exxon Valdez of grocery shopping. My mom once sent me to buy butter ...

1972. Dealing with Cantankerous People

Ephesians 4:30-5:2

Sermon

King Duncan

There is an old, old story about a cantankerous, crabby old man. His neighbors avoided him. His four boys moved away from home as soon as they could. You get the picture. His poor wife stood by him, but it was not easy. One night he went to bed and just slipped away. His four boys were called in. What should they do? “He was hard to live around,” one of them said, “and no one could get along with him, but he was our pa. We owe him a decent burial, out in the meadow beyond the field.” So they went out to ...

1973. How God Looks at Marriage

Mark 10:2-16

Sermon

King Duncan

A young couple decided to wed. As the big day approached, they grew apprehensive. Each had a problem they had never before shared with anyone, not even each other. The groom-to-be, overcoming his fear, decided to ask his father for advice. “Dad,” he said, “I am deeply concerned about the success of my marriage. I love my fiancée very much, but you see, I have very smelly feet, and I’m afraid that my future wife will be put off by them.” “No problem,” said his dad. “All you have to do is wash your feet as ...

1974. When the Unthinkable Happens

Mark 13:1-8, 24-32

Sermon

King Duncan

A priest and a rabbi from local parishes were standing by the side of the road holding up signs. The rabbi’s sign read, “The End is Near!” The priest, on the other side of the road, held up a sign which read, “Turn before it’s too late!” They planned to hold up their signs to each passing car. “Get a job,” The first driver yelled at them when he saw the sign. The second driver, immediately behind the first, yelled, “Leave us alone you religious freaks!” Shortly, from around the curve, the two clergy heard ...

1975. King Jesus

Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

Wayne Brouwer

One morning in 1872, David Livingstone wrote this in his diary: "March 19, my birthday. My Jesus, my king, my life, my all, I again dedicate my whole self to thee. Accept me, and grant, O gracious Father, that ere the year is gone I may finish my work. In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen." Just one year later, servants came to check on their master's delay. They found him on his knees in prayer. He was dead. Livingstone's testimony is powerful on many levels, but the one that is most striking is his claim upon ...

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