Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1976 to 2000 of 4943 results

1976. Captive To The Word Of God

John 8:31-41

Sermon

Theodore F. Schneider

The Zealots had made a courageous stand, holding off General Silva and his elite Roman legion for more than a year. Jerusalem had already fallen months ago, and the mesa named Masada, along the west coast of the Dead Sea, was the site of the last pocket of Jewish resistance. Come morning, that, too, would change. The wooden walls were burning, and within the day's first light the Roman battering ram would begin again and make its final assault upon the weakened walls and gates. The leader of the 960 men, ...

1977. Another Tricky Question

Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon

Johnny Dean

There is a scene in the movie Used People in which a mother/daughter confrontation occurs. In the movie, the daughter - rapidly approaching middle age (whatever that is), divorced, mother of two children - is leaving home and heading for California to make a new life for herself and her children. Naturally, Mother objects. And as mothers sometimes do, she tries to lay a load of guilt on her daughter in order to force her to reconsider this foolish notion. The daughter, however, has learned a few tricks ...

1978. The Family of Judas

Drama

William Grimbol

SETTING: Monologues by the father, mother, brother, sister and grandmother of Judas TIME: Christ's ministry FATHER OF JUDAS: I am just so angry with that ... that Jesus ... that self-proclaimed Messiah ... why he knew exactly what he was doing, taking those twelve fine young men down a dead-end path. You can't tell me for a second that Jesus didn't know what he was doing ... he knew he'd be crucified ... he even predicted it, I'm told. No, he knew. He tempted fate every chance he had. He challenged the ...

1979. The Shouting of the Crowd

Matthew 27:11-26

Sermon

Wallace H. Kirby

Spivey's Corner is a little town in Sampson County, North Carolina. I never heard of it until I lived in a nearby county. I passed through it numerous times on my way back and forth to Clinton and was aware of a terrible automobile accident there. A few years ago, Spivey's Corner became famous, featured on the nightly news, written about in news magazines, and visited by people who would never have thought of going there if it had not gained notoriety. That little community, really a mere crossroads, is ...

1980. The Butterfly Rock

Acts 10:23b-48

Sermon

Carl Jech

Introduction Do you know what your name means? Many names do have a definite historical or linguistic meaning. Jeffrey, for example, means "peaceful." Helga means "holy." Vivian means "full of life." Carl means "strong" or "manly." Michael means "one who is like God." You would be surprised at how many names have religious or biblical background. All the various forms of the name John go back to the biblical, Hebrew name Jo-nathan - the Jo refers to God (Jehovah or Yahweh) and Nathan means gift. Thus Joan ...

1981. Do Not Enter

2 Corinthians 6:3-13

Children's Sermon

Object: a big piece of chain and a sign with the words "Do Not Enter." Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever ridden in a car with your mother or father and seen this sign? [Hold up the "Do Not Enter" sign.] You are just about to turn into this street when you have to put on your brakes and stop. The place you want to go is right up that block, but they won't let you go past the sign because the street is torn up, or it is one way, the other way. That sign is an obstacle. It keeps us from going where ...

1982. Christ's Passion Portraits

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Paul Hegele

The task before us that afternoon was simple enough. The newly remodeled church lounge had a wall which needed a picture; everyone agreed it should be a portrait of Christ. The question was - what should Jesus look like? Five hundred years before Christ's birth, Isaiah had predicted he would have "no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him." Except for the unnerving remark, the Bible never mentions Jesus' appearance. So, which of the scores of paintings ...

1983. The Sounds at the Summit

Exodus 19:1-25

Sermon

Shortly before dawn one morning a couple years ago, a gasoline pipeline erupted and a terrible fire flared up right down the middle of a suburban St. Paul, Minnesota, street. A woman delivering newspapers was caught in the flames; her car ignited and she was severely burned, but survived. People were awakened to discover flames shooting higher than telegraph poles. "The whole neighborhood is on fire," was one person’s description. In one home, a father woke up his wife, told her to get her daughter while ...

1984. Proper 4

Deuteronomy 11:1-32, Genesis 12:1-8, Matthew 7:15-23, Matthew 7:24-29, Romans 3:21-31, Psalm 31:1-24, Psalm 33:1-22

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE From this point until late in the Pentecost season, on Sundays there is only the general theological framework of the church year to provide biblical/theological clues for worship and preaching themes. Pentecost, as "the time of the church," is eschatological; the church worships and waits, learns and grows, and witnesses and works for the coming of the fullness of the kingdom in Jesus' promised return. On the Sundays of Pentecost, the church is counting time, not marking time, until the ...

1985. Pentecost 4

Psalm 100:1-5, Genesis 25:19-34, Exodus 19:1-25, Romans 5:1-11, Matthew 9:35-38, Matthew 10:1-42

Sermon Aid

THEOLOGICAL CLUE The eschatological stance of the church year continues to throw its theological aura around the assigned readings for the day. It insists that the call to the ministry of the church and the proclamation of the gospel began with the calling and naming of the disciples, and that the church must establish evangelism as its outward thrust and its reach into the world. The church is evangelical by the work and definition accorded it by Jesus Christ; its business is the Word of God, and ...

1986. A Most Amazing Night

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

"But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. (Luke 2:19) The shadows are getting long in late afternoon as Joseph comes running into the house bursting with news: Caesar Augustus has ordered a census for the whole Roman Empire. Everyone will have to go to their family’s hometown to be counted and to pay a tax. For Joseph and Mary, this means travelling to Bethlehem. Mary wants to know more, but Joseph can’t answer her questions. The Romans are not in the habit of explaining themselves to ...

1987. Scenes From a Marriage

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Craig Erickson

How incongruous to talk about marriage on this solemn Day of Ashes. Marriage evokes images of life and joy and growth, perhaps even of youthful, starry-eyed wonder. But this is a day about dying. It’s a day of sober realism and human limitations. It’s a day that begins a season of denial, of fasting, and repentance. How incongruous to bring up marriage on this day. But then, every marriage has its moments. There’s not one that doesn’t have its darker side, when the "union made in heaven" is all-too- ...

1988. As Good As God

Leviticus 19:1-37

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

The Lord said to Moses, "Say to all the congregation of the people of Israel, You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy. You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand forth against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason with your neighbor ...

1989. Dessert in the Desert

Deut 32:10-12 · Ez 37

Sermon

Robert Noblett

On one occasion our family went to a park for a picnic, and as my wife and I sat watching our children play, we beheld the most unsettling of sights. There was a child, perhaps eleven months of age, playing in the sand next to his mother, and he was eating handfuls of sand the way you and I consume handfuls of Planters Peanuts. One of his siblings brought this matter to the attention of his mother and her comment was, "Don’t worry about it; it won’t hurt him!" After watching him wolf down a few handfuls of ...

1990. Getting Untwisted

Galatians 5:1

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: Some string that easily twists and untwists, or a necklace or chain. Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you hove ever played with a chain or a necklace like this and watched it get all twisted up, and then untwist itself? Oh, that’s good, a lot of you have done this. That means that you will understand what I am talking about in our little experiment. It is important that you watch the chain when it is unwinding, or otherwise it will wind right back up the other way. Now if you want your ...

1991. The Lord Is My Shepherd

Psalm 23:1-6

Sermon

Robert Allen

We were just completing our evening meal when the phone rang. The kids started laughing because the joke around our house is that we cannot sit down to eat without the phone ringing just once. Sometimes it is someone trying to sell us siding for the house ... or it’s a phone call for one of the kids ... or a phone call from someone just to chat. On this night, the call was to let me know that Bob had taken a turn for the worse. A family member was calling and asking if I could come to the hospital. I ...

1992. Courageous Preaching

Isaiah 50:1-11

Sermon

Durwood L. Buchheim

Suppose reliable word came that within hours this area of the country would be attacked by enemy missiles. Orders from the military broadcast over the emergency stations tell us to evacuate our town and literally run for our lives. Perhaps we would quickly plan some strategy of escape, maybe with some close friends and relatives. Or we might hold a hurried congregational meeting and decide to leave in some sort of protective caravan. No matter what our specific response, all of a sudden we would experience ...

1993. Resurrection: From Brokenness to Wholeness

Matthew 15:29-39

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

His name was Jahmai. In the ancient lineage of his people Jahmai was one of the sons of Tola (1 Chronicles 7:2), a worthy man and father of a great tribe by the days of King David. But the Jahmai of our story lived much, much later in the Hebrew lineage and his grand namesake was long forgotten. The Jahmai of our story was a youth, and this day he walked behind the crowds that followed Jesus. His walking was slowed because of his left leg being bent, never going straight. It meant that he would step-slide ...

1994. "But, Lord, I Didn’t Want To Be Saved in That Way"

2 Kings 5:1-27

Sermon

Thomas D. Peterson

The encounter between Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria and a leper, and the prophet Elisha is quite a treat. The story opens with Naaman bringing a fortune in gifts which the king had provided him to buy the healing powers of Elisha. It concludes with Naaman asking for "two mules’ burdens of earth" so that he may sacrifice to the true God when he returns home. Two stories from my own life came to me when I began to unpack this text. When I was in seminary there was a young professor whom ...

1995. You CAN Take It With You

Luke 24:36-49

Sermon

This sermon is dominated by one image - scars. Rather than the cumulative force of many images, here is the cumulative force of one - scars - skillfully worked. When done effectively, as it is here, the listeners do not anticipate what is coming and therefore dare not abandon listening. The presence of scars means there have been wounds. More importantly, it means there has been healing. Read and see how the preacher does it for his parish and for readers/listeners. The old saying, "You can’t take it with ...

1996. When the Sermon Turns Sour

Luke 4:14-30

Sermon

William G. Carter

I want to let you in on an industry secret. Ready? Most preachers have a difficult time preaching in the congregations where they grew up. It is true for me. I was recently invited to preach in the church where I grew up. My mixed feelings about the invitation were justified. Before anybody heard a word I said, they remembered little Billy Carter, who made paper airplanes out of worship bulletins and dropped them from the balcony when nobody was looking. Even the newcomers who joined long after I moved ...

1997. The Ten Commandments #8: No Stealing

Exodus 20:1-21

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Have you ever been robbed? Someone broke into your home or business or car or locker at school and took something? I have. A few years ago, someone broke into my car while it was parked on the street and took some things from the back seat. They were not expensive or irreplaceable, but it was a rotten feeling none the less...not so much that something I owned was stolen, but the feeling that part of ME had been violated. Has that ever happened to you? There is a tie between us and our property that has ...

1998. The Lord's Prayer: Our Father

Matthew 6:5-15

Sermon

David E. Leininger

When I was a boy, our church had a summer camp. For one week every summer, we had the opportunity to get out of the heat of Baltimore, to play, to swim, to enjoy good friends, and to learn more about the Lord. After all, it was a church camp. Prior to the experience each year, all those who were registered to participate were given instructions about what to bring, what not to bring, and so on. And one of the items that was listed as absolutely to be included was a blank postcard. You see, the second ...

1999. Stay in the Boat!

Matthew 14:22-36

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Familiar story. Mark Twain refers to it in one of his books. He recalls a visit to the Holy Land and a stay in Capernaum. It was a moonlit night, so he decided to take his wife on a romantic boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Twain asked a man in a rowboat how much he would charge to take them out on the water. The man saw Twain's white suit, white shoes and white hat and supposed he was a rich Texan. So he said the cost would be twenty-five dollars. Twain walked away as he said, "Now I know why Jesus walked ...

2000. One Shock after Another

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

You are familiar with Thoreau's aphorism that "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." You may even believe it. 'Tis true that for far too many, day fades into night then into day again with no real joy, no excitement, no exhilaration. Existence is BLAH...if even that good. Boring. Unfortunately, things are not that simple. In fact, just the opposite is true. Yes, there ARE boring, blah times in our lives - those may even make up the major portion of our lives - but what define us are those times ...

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