Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 176 to 200 of 1182 results

Genesis 12:1-8

Drama

Jerry Eckert

... mind, I got to wondering how Abraham might have handled his anxiety over how his obedience to God was paying off. I chose a time early in his career when that anxiety would have been high. The first time I did this story sermon, a friend let me use a classic old black telephone that dated from the early '40s. With it, I conducted a one-sided conversation with God, much on the order of Bob Newhart's technique, that is, repeating much of what God had said. This time, I did the same thing, but wished I had the ...

177. The Poor In Spirit

Matthew 5:1-12

Sermon

John A. Terry

... strength, he had no strength when it was needed. Better the faith of the hymn which says, "When other helpers fail, and comforts flee, help of the helpless, O abide with me." In contrast to the poor in spirit are the proud in spirit. In classical Christian theology, pride is the chief sin. There is the account in The Divine Comedy of Virgil and Dante meeting the Angel of Humility. The angel struck Dante's forehead with his wings, and thus erased the pride-mark, while angel choirs sang, "Beati pauperers ...

178. Those Who Mourn

Isaiah 40:1-31

Sermon

John A. Terry

I believe we have developed a greater understanding of the meaning and means of mourning. In 1969, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross published her classic book titled On Death and Dying. In it she identified five basic stages in the grieving process: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Personally and professionally, I have found these helpful categories in recognizing where I am in my grieving and where others are in theirs. I have also found ...

179. The Persecuted

John 15:18-27

Sermon

John A. Terry

... the brand name. For the contemporary branch of the Roman Catholic Church, "the one that features hip priests, guitar playing, hand shaking, hugging, and other manifestations of universal niceness," he offers "R.C. Light"; for the conservative tradition, "R.C. Classic"; for the group most interested in liberation theology, "R.C. Free." As for the Protestants, he says, "Many of the Protestant churches (PC's) have maintained a standback style since the Reformation and have been watching their market share ...

180. Paul, The Great Missionary

Philippians 1:1-11

Drama

Jerry Eckert

Notes: Hostage issues always appear to be before us. It seemed appropriate to look back into the scriptures to see if there were any materials that might have meaning in that kind of historical context. While Paul was not a hostage in the classic sense, he was under house arrest a number of times, thus separated from his family and friends, and from his task as ambassador for Christ. I decided to drop the hostage notion and just concentrate on the way things were for the story line. Storytelling can do ...

181. A Song To Sing

Ephesians 5:18-20

Children's Sermon

... label. This tape doesn't have any music on it! It's blank! I guess we can't listen to any music today. Oh well, let's talk about music instead. What kind of music do you like? (Let them respond.) There are lots of different kinds of music - classical, country-western, oldies, rock and rap. I think everyone likes some kind of music. They might not like to sing, but almost everyone likes to listen. Can you tell me some of the times we usually hear music? (Let them respond.) We sing at birthdays. We sing in ...

182. Runaway Lives

2 Samuel 18:1-18

Sermon

Robert Noblett

... 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 miles an hour. He pulled up next to the runaway horses, leaped onto the ...

183. We All Sin So What?

Genesis 3:1-24

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

... trying to hide our sins from God. We have not changed a bit since Adam and Eve. Symbolically they tried to hide their disobedience by making aprons of fig leaves to hide their nakedness. When God came, they hid themselves in the garden. Much later, we have a classic case dealing with David’s affair with Bathsheba. When she reported to him that she was pregnant, David at once began to hide his sin from her husband, Uriah. At first he tried to get Uriah to go home and sleep with Bathsheba. When that did not ...

184. Proper 20

Proverbs 31:10-31, Mark 9:30-37, James 3:13-18; 4:1-12

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... sudden, unwelcome reminder of our extreme vulnerability; it's an omen of our own fate. I do not yet clip the obituaries but I read them. Life can no longer be taken for granted. Francois Fenelon, a seventeenth-century French mystic who wrote the classic Christian Perfection, spoke articulately of the denial of death: "We consider ourselves immortal, or at least as though (we are) going to live for centuries. Folly of the human spirit! Every day those who die soon follow those who are already dead. One about ...

185. Proper 26

Hebrews 9:11-28, Ruth 1:1-22, Mark 12:28-34

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... that they would be better off in their own country, she instructs them to go back to the homes of their origin. Orpah tearfully parts from Naomi but Ruth refuses to leave and vows to accompany her until death. This text provides a classic story of friendship and loyalty. Old Testament: Deuteronomy 6:1-9 Epistle: Hebrews 9:11-14 The author of Hebrews continues his comparison of the ministry of Christ with that of the Jewish religion. This lection compares the earthly religious sanctuary, where priests ...

186. Praise The Lord!

Psalm 148:13

Illustration

John E. Sumwalt

... . Participants left feeling pampered and refreshed. But this year the Board faced a potentially embarrassing dilemma. In the two years since the last retreat, Mae Ella Grant had joined the church. Now, Bethlehem Community Church was known for its classic, high-church liturgy. The pastor's preaching style tended to attract the intellectual, professional members of the community. The organist and music director had both taught music at a local private college for years. They had attracted many professional ...

187. New Life From Old

1 John 2:28--3:10

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

... , the butterfly itself is totally involved in the art of flying and finding nectar daily to sustain its new life beyond the cocoon. This danger acknowledged, let us dare to ask the question about the appearance of the new life. One of the Christian classics in literature is the book by Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, considered by some "the most perfect flower of medieval Christianity." The essential message of this work is that the Christian life is to be like Christ, following in his footsteps ...

188. Friday -- The Good One

Hebrews 10:1-18

Sermon

Mark J. Molldrem

... wounded, tears, darkness, and death. How can we use a word like good in the same breath? What good can come from Jesus' death on the cross on a day long ago on a hill called "the place of the skull"? Several years ago Granger Westberg wrote his classic book Good Grief. He explained how grief was a normal and necessary human experience at a time of loss. Healthy people engage their sorrow and work through it in such a way so as to emerge from their valley of shadows with a newfound peace and strength. Grief ...

189. Love One Another (or Strike Up The Band)

John 13:31-38

Sermon

Lee Griess

... for one another is the primary witness of the church in the world today. Jesus made that clear when he said, "By this shall all know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." A number of years ago Henry Drummond wrote a classic sermon titled "The Greatest Thing in the World." He concluded his sermon by suggesting that if you put a piece of iron in the presence of an electrified field, that piece of iron itself will become electrified. And in the presence of that electrical field, it is ...

190. Happy Fear - A Wedding Homily

Psalm 128:1-6

Sermon

John V. Carrier

... setting. We ask God to be present in this relationship. The scriptures we read tell us of the need for God to be a main ingredient in our life together. God is the source of true joy. A good portion of the Godliness of this relationship is not classically religious. It is instead, everyday life. __________ and __________, how you live will be informed by what you believe. It is important for you to realize that everything you have, including yourselves and each other, is a gift of God. It is a sign of God's ...

191. Structure And Clarity

Sermon

Michael Rogness

... sure they understand what they are in the flow of the sermon. Even more importantly make sure the audience never gets lost in just one of the points, but always knows that each of the points is related to the center. The symbol for the classic "three-point sermon" -- Introduction, One, Two, Three, Conclusion -- is the bicycle wheel with two, three, four spokes radiating from the main point at the center. There's nothing magical about the number three. A two-point sermon can be just as good, or even four ...

192. If We Are Dreamers

Joel 2:18-27, Joel 2:28-32

Sermon

Clement E. Lewis

... subconsciously run from the train, as he hoped the calf might have done. When he realized the cause of his bad dream, it never occurred again. The clear light of reason and understanding relieved the subconscious fear that haunted him. Perhaps the most classic of dreams were those of Joseph, the son of Jacob, as recounted in Genesis 37. His brothers, being jealous of him and his grandiose recounting of the dreams of superiority, sold him into slavery. Strangely the dreams came true some years later when ...

193. Christ the King

John 18:28-40

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note The conversation about kingship between Pilate and Jesus reported by John is a classic case of two people "talking past one another." John's Pilate clearly is looking for an excuse to execute Jesus, so Jesus' admission that he is any kind of king is sufficient for his purposes. For our purposes, however, what is important is Jesus' insistence that his kingdom is other- ...

194. Prayer for Transfiguration

Mark 9:2-13

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

Gospel Note Mark's description of the transfiguration of Jesus, though probably to the evangelist an eschatological sign of the Messiahship of Jesus, points to a classic theophany, i.e., a breakthrough of the mysterious sacred into the everyday profane, and a typically human, irrelevant reaction: "This is wonderful! Let's build something!" Liturgical Color White Suggested Hymns How Good, Lord, To Be Here! O God Of God, O Light Of Light Renew Me, O Eternal Light ...

195. What "They" Say

Luke 9:18-27

Sermon

Larry Powell

... clearly in my mind; "I don't really know who is right, but what Larry is saying sounds more like what mother and daddy believe than what you say." The question was not, "What do your parents believe?" but "What do you believe?" The reply was a classical "They say" response. It is always easier to repeat than to think, isn't it? Christian friends, you and I have studied the Bible. We have read and listened to other people's beliefs concerning Christ. We know what John Wesley believed. We know what Billy ...

196. Preaching the Miracles of Jesus

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... element. In the case of the raising of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:35-43), they claim that the girl was not really dead, only asleep. In the miracle of feeding 5,000, the explanation is that the people shared their lunches with each other. In the classic case of David and Goliath, a physician explained that Goliath had a cyst on his forehead. This cyst was a soft spot which allowed the pebble to penetrate Goliath's brain, killing him instantly. A Case For Accepting The Miracles Of Jesus In view of the ...

197. Reformation Sunday

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Sermon

George Paul Mocko

... of these and make myself a saint and think that you owe me! God, I really am pretty good at making a fool of myself." Somehow the prayer has to come to something like that. It did so for Luther. And it was out of that that he wrote those classic words for his Small Catechism, "I believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him." How then? How do I know what God is like, what God wants from this world and me? Luther continues, "But the Holy Spirit ...

198. Preaching the Miracles of Jesus

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

199. Proper 14

Mt 14:22-33 · Rom 9:1-5 · Ex 14:19-31 · Ps 106:4-12

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... . True to form, Peter is the first to speak up and dare to do what Jesus was doing. As usual, his braggadocio ended in being humiliated by failure. This experience fits into the picture of Peter's prominence as leader. At Caesarea Philippi he gave his classic confession of Christ. The resurrected Christ appeared to Cephas (1 Corinthians 15:5). On Easter an angel asked the women at the tomb to tell the disciples and Peter (Mark 16:7) about the empty tomb. In John 21, we have the account of Jesus and Peter ...

200. Epiphany 2

John 2:1-11, Isaiah 62:1-12, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, Psalm 96:1-13, Psalm 36:1-12

Sermon Aid

George Bass

... , the Sundays ought to be thought of, if not actually named, as the Sundays of Epiphany), as Jesus' ministry is about to begin. The Gospel for the Day used to be the Gospel for the First Sunday after the Epiphany (Luke 2:41-52) in the classic, one-year lectionary; that, in itself separated Jesus' response in his ministry from God's action in his birth and baptism. (It will be remembered that the Epiphany, originally, was a unitive festival, consisting of the "Star Story" about his birth, the story of his ...

Showing results