Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 176 to 200 of 832 results

Sermon

Alex Gondola

... , then the British novelist and playwrite Somerset Maugham surely should have been a happy man. After all, at the time of his death in 1965, Maugham was described by Time as the most famous author in the world. He had sold eighty million copies of his books, plays, and short stories. At his fabulous villa on the French Riviera, he dined on silver plates and entertained kings. Yet Somerset Maugham, this much acclaimed author, appeared to have been an unhappy person. Everything was wrong with his life ...

177. Life Beside The Falls

Ezekiel 47:1-12

Sermon

David O. Bales

... . A year after she began her daily discipline of writing, she approached the newspaper editor for a weekly column, but he refused. So Mildred went back to her desk and continued writing essays and articles, and when she submitted them to newspapers elsewhere her copy was often accepted. When a new editor arrived in town she showed up in his office with a stack of her clippings and he agreed to try her out. By the time of the football controversies Mildred was writing her weekly column, "Life Beside ...

178. Why Do People Suffer?

Mark 15:33-41

Sermon

David O. Bales

... be compensated; the suffering we have endured will be repaid." Not a muscle on Susan's face moved, but she felt heavy. "Do we really need to make excuses for God? Must we justify God in all this and say God's not to blame? Or are we copying insurance companies' blasphemies, naming all that we can't control 'Acts of God'? Do we have to relate absolutely everything that happens to God? Jesus didn't blame God. He set out to attack Satan and the demons. Need we besmirch God's reputation in every discussion of ...

179. Jesus Heals Many

Mark 1:35-39, Mark 1:29-34

Sermon Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... . Make sure that the people know that such needs are met, not through David Copperfield's magic, but by surrender to the living Christ, and by our involvement in his mission. Response: "Day By Day" ACTS OF CONFESSIONS Introduction to the Act of Confession Provide a printed copy of the following personal inventory for each worshiper: Invite them to respond with a "yes" or "no." (1) I have freely chosen to accept God. (2) I have chosen to live under and to serve God; and I am aware of other things I could be ...

180. Epiphany 8

Mark 2:18-22, Mark 2:13-17

Sermon Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... : (As a lead-in to Lent) "When We Are Tempted to Deny Your Son," David W. Romig, 1965; Louis Bourgeois, 1542; abridged. Introduction to the Act of Receiving New Life As we go through the week, I invite us to become aware of our Linus blankets. In addition, copy the words of this hymn and carry them with you. Read them each time that you become aware of one of your Linus blankets. Response: "Put Your Hand in the Hand," first part only. Sing it two or three times. Words and music by Gene MacLellan, from Folk ...

181. The Season Of The Holy Spirit

Mark 9:42-50

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... , and we get few results? (2) How do we contribute to another's downfall? We are responsible, not for another, but to another. Or, is our society so "open" that we think our behavior makes no difference? (If you can, find a copy of Frederick Speakman's "The Salty Tang," from the book of the same title.) Celebrating Through Thanksgiving And Intercession Bring together all of the ideas suggested by today's Gospel. STEWARDSHIP Stewardship Challenge A Chinese proverb reads, "A person who says it cannot ...

182. The Season Of The Holy Spirit

Mark 10:1-12

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... Texas 76796. Study guides also are available. I suggest that you study this series over a period of six weeks. If you want to borrow this series from me, please send 25 dollars, with a promise to return it immediately after using it. I have two copies. Marriage and the family will take on a new dimension.) Response "How Happy Is Each Child of God" CELEBRATING OUR OBEDIENCE Stewardship Challenge How will we live out the stewardship of marriage and family by giving up our "If It Weren't For You" game-playing ...

183. The Season Of The Holy Spirit

Mark 13:1-31

Bulletin Aid

Wayne H. Keller

... , and The Last Book of the Bible, by Hanns Lilje. I invite you to read them before tackling this subject. I wrote one sermon based on this theme, titled "Raptured Into the Second Coming, or E.T.A. Later Than You Think." (If you want a copy, send me $3.00 and a SASE.) Response "Rejoice! Rejoice, Believers" STEWARDSHIP Stewardship Challenge It's time to give up game-playing, not only about Jesus' return, but to give up game-playing, period. Have Petula Clark, or a soloist, sing, "Games People Play." (Popular ...

184. Moving At The Speed Of Light: Jerusalem: What Word Would You

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Sermon

Frank Luchsinger

... ! Save yourselves! You don't know what you're getting into. Prolonged contact with our species can only degrade your present standards, whatever they are." Brereton C. Jones, Kentucky governor, said, "I would want to give them two items ... The U.S. Constitution and a copy of the Bible. The Constitution is the compilation of rules that we as a people have chosen to follow. The Bible ... is the compilation of rules that our Creator has chosen for us to follow. I would explain that we do not always abide by ...

185. All Saints

Psalm 149:1-9, Ephesians 1:15-23, Ephesians 1:1-14, Luke 6:27-36, Luke 6:17-26, Daniel 7:1-14

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

... powers and the success of God's Kingdom. It was written at a time of persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes who robbed the temple, put a statue of Jupiter in the holy of holies, commanded the sacrifice of swine, forbade circumcision, and destroyed all copies of the Scriptures that could be found. The tyrant was defeated by Judas Maccabaeus in 165 B.C., and the temple was then cleansed and re-dedicated. Epistle: Ephesians 1:11-23 Spiritual blessings for God's people. Scholars are divided over the authorship ...

186. Facing Up To Temptation

Matthew 4:1-11

Sermon

Thomas Long

... paper under my nose, making sure I saw the color photo of the attractive young woman in a bikini. "Who is that?" I asked. "Who is that? That's Kathy Ireland ... you know ... the cover girl for Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue." "You going to buy a copy?" He chuckled lecherously. "I dunno. I'm tempted." I'm tempted ... what does that mean? Most of us think that if there is one thing we know about in life, it's temptation. If there's one theological word that does not need to be rescued from abstraction ...

187. Bad Timing

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

Thomas Long

... the road by a hostile tribe, accused of espionage, and thrown into a shabby makeshift prison. There was only one other prisoner, and the men suffered through their ordeal together. They were poorly clothed, badly fed and mistreated cruelly by the guards. Their only comfort was a copy of the Book Of Common Prayer, which had been given to the envoy as a farewell gift by his sister in England. She had inscribed her name along with a message of good will on the first leaf. This book served the men not only as a ...

188. Easter 7

Jn 17:1-11 · Acts 1:1-14 · 1 Pet 4:12-19, 5:6-11 · Ps 68 · Ps 27 · Ps 47

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... 's practice to pray for the leaders of a community, where he was about to have a campaign. At one point, he wrote to the mayor of Columbus, Ohio, and asked for the names of those whom he should be praying for. The mayor sent Billy a copy of the phone book. Illustration: My daughter got a card in the mail informing her that her pastor was praying for her that day. She belongs to a very large and speedily growing congregation, where the pastor knows very few of his parishioners. How can pastors effectively ...

189. Pentecost

1 Corinthians 12:1-11, Joel 2:28-32, John 7:25-44, Acts 2:14-41, Acts 2:1-13, John 20:19-23

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... genetic makeup but also from the fact that the Spirit has gifted us with a special configuration of spiritual gifts. Paul says that there is only one Spirit but various gifts that flow from the same Spirit. God is not in the business of turning out carbon copies, only first edition masterpieces. Gospel: John 7:37-39 Well within. Living in a semiarid part of the world, the Hebrews were always concerned that they be near a source of water. Aridity for the spirit is every bit as deadly as for the land. Jesus ...

190. Transfiguration

2 Peter 1:12-21, Daniel 7:1-14, Exodus 24:1-18, Matthew 17:1-13

Sermon Aid

Russell F. Anderson

... is so popular that bookstores have established special angel sections and five of the ten top religious books, according to Publisher's Weekly, have been about angels. Billy Graham's 1975 book, Angels: God's Secret Agents was a best-seller at 2.6 million copies. Yet, how deeply felt is this belief in angels? Do the figures point to a resurgence of interest in the things of the spirit or a mere wistfulness for the realm of the transcendent, without firm conviction? A number of theologians believe that the ...

191. Matthew

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

... Joachim To: the Office of the Regional Tax Administrator,Antonius Marcellus Dear Tony, Matthew's a clever guy, but you think you got headaches! He's writing poetry. He was up in the hills all last week instead of watching the Damascus-Acre road office. He even sent me a copy of his poems about being tempted by the Devil. I had to switch him with the guy who handles the taxes of the fishermen. I think he got the hint. The cheese helped and the stomach is not as fiery as it has been. But I still don't sleep ...

192. Children

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

... at the Hispanic church in town invited me over to preach. I had embarrassed myself the year before by reading both the English and the Spanish versions of a sermon for them, so I decided to go with a translator this time. I sent her a triple-spaced copy of the text so she could get ready for the task. She came prepared. While I read the story, she translated spontaneously. Even I was more captivated with her rendition, which I really did not understand, than I was with my own! I'm sorry I didn't tape ...

193. The Merciful

Sermon

John A. Terry

... who stopped him. Saturday morning this man's picture appeared on the front page of the local paper. The man's face was all banged up, his eyes were all puffy, and the picture was accompanied by a complete account of the incident. When the pastor got a copy of the paper, he sat down, wrote this man a note, and sent his wife out to deliver it. The note read, "We would be most disappointed if we did not see you and your family sitting up front in church tomorrow." The next morning, they were there, facing ...

194. Doing The Right Thing

Acts 1:1-11

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... , he argues, that personal relationships be based on mutual trust which grows out of demonstrated integrity. Mr. Covey then cites Benjamin Franklin as an early example of character. Franklin, of course, helped establish the ethical foundations of American life. If we turn to a copy of Franklin's autobiography, we find his very simple creed by which he lived the later years of his life. It is worth our note. I'll bet you teachers will wish every student could be encouraged to memorize it. Benjamin Franklin's ...

195. Repentance: A New Relationship

Joel 2:1-11

Sermon

E. Carver McGriff

... now we can never go back to being what we were. May I conclude by sharing something about a man of whom I know? He was a basically good person, but in his college years he was irresponsible. He barely made his way through with low grades, often copying someone else's work, spending most of his time playing at sports or attending fraternity parties. He got his degree but he didn't learn much. In the next few years he began to pay the price for this with two or three futureless jobs. One day, word came ...

196. What Shall We Do With The New Wine?

Mark 2:18-22

Sermon

John A. Stroman

... truthful. It was a monumental discovery that would greatly benefit the world of astrology and science. Why should such a colossal discovery of truth be withheld because the church could not face the truth of new discovery? His book appeared at last, and one of the first copies reached Copernicus on May 24, 1543. He was on his deathbed at the time. He read the title page, smiled, and in the same hour died. The parable teaches us that the value is not in the wineskin, but in the wine. There is the tendency to ...

197. Ash Wednesday

Mark 1:1-8

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... paintings of the baptism of Christ. Ask one of the people in the congregation who enjoys sketching to go to the local library to find an art book containing one of these paintings. When this person finds a work he or she likes, then this person can copy or trace the painting onto a sheet of paper. (Tracing is easier if the page is laid on a sheet of glass with a light source under the glass.) Then this sketch of a classic interpretation of Jesus' baptism can be reproduced for a worship bulletin cover ...

198. The Merciful

Matthew 18:21-35

Sermon

John A. Terry

199. Zacchaeus

Luke 19:1-10

Drama

Jerry Eckert

200. Third Sunday of Easter

Luke 24:36b-48

Bulletin Aid

RobertT D. Ingram

... members should witness to the truth of what the scriptures say about Jesus Christ, and in this way fulfill Jesus' charge in verse 48. Those who will accept this challenge could hold up their hand in the worship service in order to receive a copy of the study materials. The church's ushers could pass these materials to those responding. After a sermon on doubting and disbelieving, invite the worshipers to join in an affirmation of faith. Use the affirmation printed above, or another one more familiar to the ...

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