Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 1976 to 2000 of 4977 results

1976. The Motherly Compassion of the Christ

Matthew 10:1-42, Matthew 9:35-38

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... consideration? Is there an age limitation? How about ethnic origin? Any preferences there? Does family background enhance our chances of a good assignment? Excuse me? These things are irrelevant? Jesus is the only reference required? Forgive us for asking too many questions. We are ready to work, Lord. It is quite obvious that you are going to have to help us! Thank you, Lord. Amen.

1977. God's Gracious Good Will

Luke 2:8-20, Luke 2:1-7

Bulletin Aid

Dennis Koch

... and cities, bureaucracy was as complex then as it is today! With the stroke of Caesar's pen, countless lives were affected. Caesar was powerful. He got what he wanted. We get the picture. On this night, by contrast, the picture is modified. Something quite simple is being celebrated. A birth. And the birth of a child has a wonderful effect upon the human heart. This birth fulfilled your promise. Countless lives have been affected and will continue to be affected. For Jesus is King of kings and Lord ...

1978. Joseph's Pit

Genesis 37:1-11

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

... . I wouldn't have believed him, but he was cheerful and alert from the moment I met him. The slave master put him with me because I had been so angry. He thought Joseph would cheer me up, and he did. I believe in God, too. But I never have quite gotten over my anger toward my uncle. It was a real surprise to see how Joseph was taking his involuntary servitude. I lost track of Joseph after the slave sales at Alexandria. Joseph went early in the trading, being so cheerful and full of life. I thought I was ...

1979. Moses's New Job

Exodus 4:18-31

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

... 's messenger Dear Zipporah, Aaron and I met with the Hebrew leaders today. They took my word for it that God will help them escape their slavery. It is terrible here. There are mostly men older than me. The boy-child killing backfired on Pharoah. So he quit after twenty years, realizing he was depleting his labor force. He has put women to work. He has cut water and food rations. He's become paranoid about the Hebrews. If he keeps up the harassing and the assassinations, there won't be a nation for God ...

1980. Tall Enough

Psalm 121:1

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... . "That's right!" I respond. "And, do you know what else?" The children look puzzled, obviously trying to think what else there could be. "I never have grown tall enough to see the top of our refrigerator -- at least, not without help. We moved a lot and went through quite a few refrigerators before I realized all I had to do to see the top of it was to stand on something, something like this stepladder I am sitting on. "This is a very OLD ladder. In fact, it was right in front of me all those years when ...

1981. "Invisible" Milk

Proverbs 29:20

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... any milk in my glass. We didn't use glasses made from glass back then. The glasses we had were like this one, made out of colored metal." I hold the metal glass out for everyone to see. "From where I sat at the table that day, my glass looked quite empty. As you can see for yourselves, this glass is metal so you can't see through it. From where you all are sitting, you can't tell if there is anything in the glass or not. And that's how it was for me that day when I sat ...

1982. Leaping On The Laundry

Joshua 1:1-18

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... he really could do it if he'd just try. He looked back over his shoulder at me one more time, said, 'Mew?' as if to make sure I meant it, then with a graceful leap, soared into the air and landed gently on the laundry where he made himself quite comfortable, as you can see from the picture. "Roy started purring (he was VERY pleased with himself) and I started thinking about what had just happened. It made me think of all the times my mom (and my dad too) had encouraged me when I was afraid to do something ...

1983. Gifts of Love

John 3:16

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... happened in some of your lives this week that hasn't happened all summer?" "We went to school!" the older children respond. "Ah, yes, school has begun. Well, I have something in my pocket that could have something to do with school. Whatever it is, it's making quite a lump, isn't it?" The children nod affirmatively, some serious, some grinning as their imaginations spill over onto their faces. "What do you think I have in my pocket to make such a lump?" "A ball?" one little girl asks. "No, it's not a ball ...

1984. Only The Messiah

Mark 8:27-30

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... .' "Then Jesus asked them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Peter answered Jesus. Do any of you know what Peter said?" "Didn't he tell Jesus he was the Son of God?" Rebecca inquires. "Yes, he did. Peter said to Jesus, 'You are the Messiah!' Now that was quite a thing for Peter to say. I mean, it was a pretty bold statement, and he might have been wrong. But, of course, he was right. What I'm wondering is how did Peter KNOW that Jesus was the Messiah?" The children think about this for a moment. To help ...

1985. God Was A Child Too

Luke 2:41-52

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... grade card -- mine, from the first grade. Let's see ... The date on the front is February 2, 1953. Wow! I must have gone to school with the dinosaurs!" Many of the children laugh at this and shake their heads in disagreement. "You don't think I'm quite that old?" I ask them. Their heads shake "no" again. "Well, thank you." I proceed to open up the report card and show them the inside where all the grades are recorded. They notice the teacher has written an extensive commentary as well. "I'm just going to ...

1986. The Light Within Epiphany

Isaiah 60:1-22

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... an ugly rock. So you may wonder why I picked it up at all. But you see, it was split into two pieces when I found it." I separate the pieces and hand them to the children to pass around as I continue. "As you can see, the rock is quite pretty on the inside; it's bright red. Now I never would have bothered to pick it up, I never would have seen its beauty, if it hadn't been split open -- to the light. That makes me think about the things in life that split us apart sometimes. Sometimes ...

1987. Snow Angels

Luke 2:8-20

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... . But suddenly there was a very bright light and an angel told them not to be afraid, that he had only come to tell them God's good news: that that very day, in the city of David, the Messiah had been born. Wow! That must have been quite an exciting experience! Imagine being visited by an angel -- especially one with such good news!" The children's faces brighten as their imaginations go to work. "You know," I continue, "there's something of an angel inside each one of you. Just like the angel that visited ...

1988. Count On It!

Hebrews 11:1

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... will fall off the tree?" I question. Dylan nods agreement. "Let's look at these leaves a little more closely for a moment," I suggest. "Can everyone see the holes?" I hold the leaves up so that light makes the holes more evident. "It looks like insects have been making quite a meal off these leaves, doesn't it? And the edges of some of the leaves have been tattered and torn by the wind. These leaves look a bit worn out -- kind of like a favorite pair of jeans that you wear a lot. When you wear your clothes ...

1989. Your Eyes Are Bigger Than Your Stomach!

Exodus 16:1-36

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

... eat?" Most of the children nod affirmation, though some are obviously at an age still indifferent to food. "Do any of you ever go out to eat?" All the children nod yes this time. "When I was a child, my parents took me out to eat once in a while. Quite often, especially if we went to a cafeteria, they would warn me, 'Be careful! Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.' Have any of you ever had anyone tell you that?" This time only two hands go up. "A couple of you have. 'Your eyes are bigger than your ...

1990. The Persecuted

John 15:18-27

Sermon

John A. Terry

... the family here, he can be sure that they will not be asked to speak in tongues, handle snakes, or give money to the Sandinistas." "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake." So said Jesus, but popular wisdom is quite different. Neil Postman, a Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at New York University, wrote a book titled Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. In it, Professor Postman quotes the executive director of the National Religious ...

1991. Jesus And The Disciples

Mark 10:17-31

Sermon

Jerry Eckert

... question. "Who made Mary?" Simon knew he was loser again when he said, "God did." Rabbi added, "Enough said!" From that point on, that group was welded together. Oh, they goofed off and they fussed over things, but they did everything together. It became quite a close bunch. On the last day, they were finishing their work on the Ten Commandments. Rabbi went around the circle. "Is there anyone here who can be obedient to God?" All the children jumped up saying they could be obedient. "Are you sure?" "Yes ...

1992. Signs of the End of the Age

Mark 13:1-31, Mark 13:32-37

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

... want to make the point here that the sleeping disciples are a metaphor of the early Christian Church. People had grown contented. They had settled down comfortably in the faith. Jesus' strong call is to keep awake. It should not be difficult to let this story run quite naturally into the way things are among us today. Who among us ought not hear Jesus' word to keep awake? We are sleepers, and we live among people who are asleep as well to the energy of the reign of God. We are sinful people and we need ...

1993. John Prepares the Way

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

... part in the story of Mark's Gospel. The first ten chapters of the story take place in Galilee and focus on Jesus, the Sower of the Word. In Galilee, that is, Jesus is primarily the preacher spreading the good news of the coming of the kingdom. We hear quite often that this reality is to be kept a secret. Beginning with the Palm Sunday story in Mark 11:1-11 the story shifts to Jerusalem where Jesus, the son of the owner of the vineyard, will be killed. (See Mark 12:1-11.) In Jerusalem Jesus is openly ...

1994. Feeding the 5000

Mark 6:30-44

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

... Jesus and bread never get told! The lectionary accounts for this by including four Sundays on Jesus and bread from the Gospel of John! Still, Mark's story does not get told. This is a Sunday to do so. Mark's bread stories can be told from one of two quite different perspectives. Story One would be the feeding story in Mark 6:35-44. In the telling of this story we might pick up the theme of manna in the wilderness. The God of the Bible is a God who provides bread for people. ("Give us this day our daily ...

1995. Jesus' Ministry Beyond Galilee

Mark 7:24-30

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

... wholeness demonstrate the reality that some soil is good soil which produces thirty, sixty and a hundredfold. Homiletical Directions The first preaching possibility we will look at with reference to these stories is a sermon that focuses on Mark's unnamed women of faith. They are quite something special -- special in a world that thought them to be so non-special that they are not even named! Tell first the story of the unnamed woman in Mark 5:24b-34. This is the woman with a flow of blood that lasted for ...

1996. A Dead Girl and A Sick Woman

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon Aid

Richard A. Jensen

... and be healed of your disease" (5:34). A woman has heard the word of Jesus. A woman of fear has become a woman of faith. The Sower's seed has fallen upon her life and she has become whole. The seed bore fruit: thirtyfold, sixtyfold and a hundredfold. Quite in contrast to Jesus' command to the Gerasene to proclaim what Jesus had done for him, this story ends with a call to silence. "He strictly ordered them that no one should know this ..." (5:43). We need to remember here the parables of the kingdom in Mark ...

1997. A Solitary Witness

Mark 6:14-29

Sermon

Leonard H. Budd

... there were much more important things to think about. Herod's palace had been in an uproar since the jailing of the preacher, John. Nothing, it seemed, would silence this Jewish preacher. His wild dress drew the crowds, and his condemnation of Herod had become quite fashionable. And so, with slave chains, he was put into the prison of the palace. There he languished until one evening when young Marcus was called upon to bring the severed head of the preacher into the very presence of Herod! Marcus had seen ...

1998. The Angry Jar

Ephesians 4:31

Children's Sermon

... of hands.) It's that special season of the year when, if you have a large garden, you see this jar a lot! It's canning time in many parts of the country. How many of you have to help with canning? (Wait for show of hands.) Canning is usually quite a family activity. It starts way back with planting the garden, weeding the garden and then it seems like all the fruits and vegetables all get ripe one after the other. Sometimes two or three kinds are ready all at once! Then it really gets busy! Do you know how ...

1999. How Can We Restore the Christian Home?

Mark 10:1-12

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... , spent their lives in a twilight of hope. They had little to which to look forward, yet they apparently had a deep concern for their children; and hearing of the presence of this "stranger of Galilee," they brought them to him - an action quite alien to their rustic and superstitious traditions about the caring for and handling of children. Note, however, the adverse reaction of the disciples at the intrusion of these women; note the verbs "rebuke" and "hinder." They might have said, "Clear these little ...

2000. Holy Believing

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Donald Macleod

... himself to men and women as bread to eat, and what would be the situation after he had gone. To believe Jesus, however, is to accept him as a person, not this or that about him, but in his totality. After all, Peter, James, John, and Andrew, we read, simply quit their jobs and followed him. Then they went on to accept his word, observe his teachings in action, and come to grips with the truth he declared. To believe Jesus is living as if what he said about God is true, the good life in the long run spells ...

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