Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1976 to 2000 of 4963 results

1976. The Waiting Game

Sermon

James Bjorge

... tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. (Shakespeare, MACBETH Act V, Scene 5) So we get bored. We no longer make dreams come true. We just sit and wistfully hope that our ship will come in even though we have never sent one out to sea. Gradually we slip into a life of boring passivity which paralyzes our potential and zest for living. It happens to the traveler who wants to go back the same way he came. The ...

1977. Is This Bible a Paddle?

1 Corinthians 10:6

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... : A paddle. Good morning, boys and girls. I brought something with me this morning that I hope none of you has ever experienced. [Show them the paddle.] How many of you know what ... don’t have to hit you with it to make you understand, do I? I didn’t think so. St. Paul hopes that people will get the same message if they read in the Bible about what happened to people after they did wicked things. I hope that you will think about the paddle and the Bible when you get the urge to do something mean to someone ...

1978. What About Heaven?

Revelation 5:11-14

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

... that there were other people there also. But most important John knew that God was there, at work, making a place for you and me. It will be different from any place that we have known but it will also be the best place that we have ever lived. I hope that maybe you will take your angel or harp or whatever you think will be important for you to know about in heaven and then go home and find out with your parents everything that you can about this place called heaven. Remember, we all ...

1979. Were You There?

Mark 2:23-3:6

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: an attendance book Good morning, boys and girls. Is everyone here? I hope everyone is here this morning who is supposed to be here, because I have a very special ... give a reminder. God made Sunday so that all of His people could come together and share the day with Him and with each other. I hope that you never wait for a reminder from God to come to church. And I do hope that you will say something to your friends who are not coming to church and tell them that God is expecting to see them here next ...

1980. TRYING IT WITHOUT GOD

Sermon

Louis H. Valbracht

... we will become nothing at all, unless, across the white, empty, silent plain, we see coming Him who says: "Because I live, you shall live," "I came that you might have life out of this death, and have it more abundantly." Without that Risen Christ, we are without hope! The world is silent. The world has no answers, except through God. We must all do what the small boy did when he threw himself into his brother’s grave and listened and said: "But it’s all quiet." The world is silent. The world has no ...

1981. Growing Up

Judges 17:1-13

Sermon

Michael J. Anton

... have some growing up to do in this country. Too often instead of raising the prophet’s voice against the intruding ills we have been part and parcel, if only by our silence, of the pollution of mind and body. These words by poet Carl Sandburg offer a vision of hope for America: "I see America, not in the setting sun of a black night of despair ahead of us. I see America in the crimson light of a rising sun fresh from the burning, creative hand of God. I see great days ahead, great days possible to men and ...

1982. The Witness of the Spirit

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... as Savior and Lord, one can actually know that one has been saved, born again, and reconciled to God. One doesn't have to just hope that one is saved...one can know! The key Biblical verses for this doctrine are Romans 8:15,16: "When we cry 'Abba! Father!' it ... things through Christ who strengthens us." There is a third difference that the witness of the Spirit makes. We have a sure hope for the future. We are "...heirs of God and fellow-heirs with Christ." Back during the worst part of the Great Depression ...

1983. A Large Fish Story

Jonah 1:1-17, Jonah 3:1-10

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... , underneath it all you are not alone. God is there, ready to replace guilt with forgiveness and to bring hope into hopelessness. Each year in America, clinical depression strikes 17 million people. The common symptoms include a persistent, sad, ... right beside you. When multiple sclerosis robbed Shirley Pat ton of the use of her legs, she faced a choice--bitterness or hope. She chose hope, as she explains in her book "My Road to Peace." Shirley, Pat ton, an Arkansas native, graduated from the University of ...

1984. Someone At the Door

Revelation 3:14-22

Sermon

Bill Bouknight

... person and He also wants to be each person's friend. That's wonderful news! The bad news is that most people are so distracted and harried that the sound of Jesus' knocking is almost inaudible. Were it not for his persistence, we might never hear him. My hope and prayer is that in the course of this holy hour, people will hear and respond to the knocking of Jesus Christ on the doors of their hearts. Look with me, please, to chapter 3 of that last book in our Bible, Revelation. Here we have an unforgettable ...

1985. Legends Of Christmas

Drama

Georgianna Summers

... get his name? Becky: No, but I think he’s a duke, and he was talking to Papa. Katie: Maybe he was asking Papa for your hand. You are almost old enough to be married now as soon as Papa can find a suitable mate for you. Marcia: Oh, I hope Papa finds someone handsome and rich and young for each of us. Do you think he will, Mama? Mama: Now, girls, I’m sure your father will do his very best for each of you. Here he comes now. [Papa enters, looking very dejected. Mama jumps up.] Husband, what’s ...

1986. Suffering

John 19:28-37

Sermon

Burton F. Blair

... not fake. So, if Jesus is the messiah, then, to be of help to us, he must suffer real pain and die a real death, just like we have to do. If Jesus was human like us and God raised him from the grave, then - and only then - we have hope. For John, the writer of the Gospel, the words, "I am thirsty," assure us that Jesus was one of us - human and fleshy. If Jesus is thirsty, no phantom could be thirsty. Then, Jesus is human like we are. In Jesus, God had fully entered into the human condition. He ...

1987. Rediscovering Our Spiritual Dimension

Genesis 17:1-27

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... perpetuate the family lineage in the ages to come. But Abraham did not have a son, except a foster child Ishmael, and he hoped to get by with that. God, however, had a higher plan, his own purpose for Abraham and Sarah his wife; he called Abraham to ... is necessary, and the faith to undergird it, but what gives all of it zest or a sense of excited waiting or an end to be hoped for? This was the challenge God gave Abraham as he looked up at the stars and was constrained to opt for God’s purpose rather than ...

1988. I Believe In Prayer

Luke 11:1-13

Sermon

Robert Allen

... There are many different reasons to pray, but one of the most valid reasons is to find comfort and peace. George Buttrick said, "prayer is as elemental as a cry in the dark." When we cry out in the dark, we are searching for some comfort ... some peace ... some hope ... in the midst of the problems of life. Real prayer is calling out to God in the midst of the pain and hurt - looking for some comfort. In ordinary life, we run into those occasions when we are up against something which is too much for us, or ...

1989. Simon Peter: Strong Stone or Crumbling Clay?

Luke 22:54-62

Sermon

Carl E. Zahrte

... one of that man’s disciples?" Before I could think, the words poured out, "I am not." She hadn’t said it that loudly and I hoped no one had heard her, but in a short while one of the men said, "Hey, you are one of them." Again I quickly denied it ... fade. Trusting that Jesus somehow would and did still love me, in spite of my denials, I found new peace and joy. You do know, I hope, how that peace and joy were secured all the more, when I saw Jesus alive again after he had risen from the dead. Yes, I was ...

1990. The King's Reception (What Are You Wearing to the Wedding?)

Matthew 22:1-14

Sermon

Brett Blair

... out. Please excuse me. The last one said, I just got married, so I can’t come. What was it that kept these men from the feast? Well, not any antagonistic feeling toward the host. Apparently it had nothing to do with him. He had their best wishes and they hoped that others would come and take their places. They were sorry, but they were busy. I have bought a field and I must go see it. I have bought five yoke of oxen and I must go examine them. I have just gotten married and therefore I cannot come. These ...

1991. The Garden: All Things New

John 20:1-9

Sermon

J. Ellsworth Kalas

... in Jesus, the Garden that day became the worst of places. For in burying Jesus, there was the burial also of all the best hopes of the human race. You can visit this second Garden still today. When you go to Jerusalem, you will find that two spots ... jaws of the dragon we know as death. And danced."1 So let us go together just now to a garden. Not necessarily in Jerusalem, though I hope you’ll go there some day if you can, but any garden: the yard in front of the church will do, or the grass by your home ...

1992. Resurrection: From Sin to a Second Chance

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... when you are hit by the rod of despair? You do what David did. You leave it to God to sort out. You accept the consequences. You hope for the resurrection. David and Bathsheba’s first child died. I do not know why. I do not believe that God demands the death of a ... living and were given a second chance - but he also rose from the dead. We believe that the resurrection says that there is hope, not only for the sinner, but also for those who are sinned against. There is a second chance not only for those that ...

1993. Resurrection: From Brokenness to Wholeness

Matthew 15:29-39

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... of little use when compared to the many strong and athletic youth of the village, Jahmai stood before Jesus. His eyes were fixed upon the man, eyes that were partly fear-filled, partly hope-filled, and partly resigned to his fate. Jahmai had hoped so long and so hard and with so little result that he dared not now cast too great a hope upon the moment. Jesus looked down to the bent leg, and stooped down to touch the twisted knee. "My friend," he said, "life is not just arms and legs - nor eyes, nor ears ...

1994. A Reed Who Became a Rock

John 1:35-42

Sermon

R. Blaine Detrick

... a reed. A while later, Peter went to the Beautiful Gate of the temple. There lay a cripple: a man who had never walked, who had been lame from the day of his birth. There he lay - begging, asking for alms. Peter and John (who was with him) stopped. The hopes of the beggar arose. Peter looked down and said, "Silver and gold have I none ..." Imagine the man’s heart beginning to drop: "If you don’t have any silver or gold, why did you bother to stop?" He didn’t say that, but I’m sure he must have ...

1995. Francis of Assisi: a Faith for Every Day

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

... ; do not carry a beggar’s bag for the trip or an extra shirt or shoes or a walking stick" (Matthew 10:9-10). How in the world should we live in our affluent culture? You have heard me tell you of my struggle with this question, and I am hopeful that you also are struggling with it. Jesus said to sell all you have and give it to the poor; he told that to a rich young man. Paul advised a restrained lifestyle lived in moderation. The Church recalls the lives of many who live with minimal comforts in order ...

1996. What’s In It For Me?

Mark 8:31--9:1

Sermon

Richard A. Jensen

... ’ rebuke. We can be sure that he was dumbfounded. He did not know what to think. He was so pleased that God’s Messiah had come in his time and in his generation. His mind was filled with all of the wonderful things that would mean for him. Peter’s hopes for a Messiah were filled with dreams that Peter would be so much better off when Messiah came. There was a lot in it for Peter if the Messiah came and touched his life. But Peter had it wrong. This story in the gospel passage scares me a little bit ...

1997. You Don’t Really Feel That Way

Job 6:1-7:21

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

... that holds us up. To discover it, we must let ourselves go into its depths. To do this in relationship with God is to find a new foundation for life, a new spring, for God is above all eternally renewing. Job is above anything else a book of hope. His arguments with God are expressions of faith even at the most despairing. But, it is faith also at its most promising. Having obeyed the dictates of total dependence upon God, he found himself justified by God’s coming in a new presence. Jesus does for us in ...

1998. Advent 3

Isaiah 61:1-11, John 1:1-18, John 1:19-28, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... THE DARKNESS, AND THE DARKNESS CANNOT OVERPOWER IT. Collect O God of light and life, who teach us ever to point to him who is greater than we, strengthen our own witness to the light; that, like John the Baptizer, we too may direct others to the real hope of salvation, the true Anointed One, in whose name we meet and pray. Amen Prayer of Confession Gracious and compassionate God, we know that we often live our lives with our spirits in a kind of dark wilderness, cut off from your light. Forgive us for all ...

1999. Christmas 1

Isaiah 9:1-7, Titus 2:1-15, Luke 2:1-7, Luke 2:8-20

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... the salvation of all humanity! People: WE REJOICE AT THE GREAT GIFT THAT IS OURS THIS DAY! Leader: Let us strive to live lives that are in all ways godly, People: TO THE GLORY OF JESUS CHRIST, WHOSE SACRIFICE FREES US FROM WICKEDNESS AND GIVES US HOPE. Collect O God of grace and glory, whose wondrous gift makes us altogether new, prepare us to receive again the great gift of your Son; that, having first received, we may then give of ourselves in unselfish ways, and with your Spirit of mercy and compassion ...

2000. The Resurrection of Our Lord

Isaiah 25:1-12, John 20:1-9, John 20:10-18, Mark 16:1-20, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Bulletin Aid

Paul A. Laughlin

... risen! People: THIS JESUS WHO WAS DEAD WAS RAISED AGAIN TO LIFE AND APPEARED TO MANY! Leader: This is the good news: death is no more! Eternal life is ours! People: PRAISE GOD FOR THIS GREAT AND GRACIOUS GIFT: OUR FAITH IS NOT IN VAIN! Collect God of life and hope, who raised a son from death to life, cause in us this day a resurrection of the heart; that we who are dead within may know the reality of resurrection and the spirit of new life in our daily lives, and may yield in our works and deeds the fruits ...

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