Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2026 to 2050 of 4933 results

2026. How To Deal With Frustration

1 Kings 8:22-61

Sermon

Robert Allen

It had been a long day and I was ready to go home. It was almost 9 p.m. and only a few groups of people were left. They were standing in clusters and talking about various matters before getting in their cars and going to their homes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone approaching me. He was a complete stranger, but some mysterious sixth sense told me that he was looking for me. When he walked up to me, he said, “Excuse me, but are you Dr. Allen?” “Yes,” I replied. Very quickly I scanned the young ...

2027. Dust And Ashes

Genesis 18:16-33

Sermon

Erskine White

Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. (Genesis 18:27) Tonight begins the forty-day season of Lent: forty days which correspond to the time Jesus spent in the desert wilderness being tempted by Satan. It is not a season we should enter into unadvisedly or lightly, for this is the most important part of the Christian year. Here we encounter our faith in all its fullness: in all its depth and height, in all its darkness and ligh, in all its pain and glory. Lent is ...

2028. Here Comes The King

Luke 19:28-44

Sermon

George Bass

A flashback - that's what this story is when it is read on the First Sunday in Advent. It has nothing to do with Jesus' birth, nor with Christmas. It has to do with his true identity, his last days before his death, his coronation as "the King of the Jews" on the cross of Calvary. And it ties together Christ the King Sunday, the end of one church year, and Advent, the beginning of a new church year. A flashback - that's what it is when we read and hear it today. And that's why it is so important. This ...

2029. Nooses or baby Bottles?

1 John 3:18

Children's Sermon

Object: a rope in the form of a noose, and a baby bottle. Good morning, boys and girls. It is a wonderful thought to get up every morning and thank God for all the good things that he has given us and particularly for the wonderful life that we have to live. Of course, the Bible teaches us that living is more than just breathing. Living according to God is loving. Let me show you what I mean. Here is something that I am sure all of you have seen in the movies or on TV. [Hold up the noose.] Who knows what ...

2030. Good Friday

John 18:1-19:42

Sermon

Kendall McCabe

After this solemn reading of the passion narrative, one stands uncertainly to preach, because surely the power of the story itself moves us by its very rehearsal. It touches each of us at a point unique to ourselves, in this hour of our particular need as we hear it again. But someone may be asking why do we do this twice in one week. It was only this past Sunday we heard the whole passion narrative according to Matthew, and now today we come to hear John tell it all over again! But it isn't the same story ...

2031. Proper 25

Matthew 22:34-40

Sermon Aid

Liturgical Color: Green Gospel: Matthew 22:34-46 Theme: Loving God and others as we love ourselves. Pastoral Invitation to the Celebration Try this: Dick Avery and Don Marsh suggest having a small group of people lying in the chancel as people enter the sanctuary. As the music for preparation concludes, the people awaken slowly, get in touch with each other, and then move out and welcome others to worship. You may want to follow with this litany between pastor and ministers: Pastor: God our God, we praise ...

2032. No Other Way To Be Happy

Deuteronomy 11:1-32

Sermon

John R. Brokhoff

"Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God ..." "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (John 14:15) "Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus ..." In a gospel song, these words of the refrain are sung over and over with each stanza. The chorus repeats the truth of our test: Obedience to God’s commands is the only way to get happiness (blessing). People in palaces are not automatically happy. The ...

2033. The True Nature of Happiness

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

Brett Blair

Some years ago the Raleigh, North Carolina NEWS & OBSERVER published an article entitled: “How Do You Measure Up As A Man? The article stated that some extensive research had been conducted on the 20th century standards for measuring a man. The criteria were quite interesting and I thought that I might list them for the men here this morning just to see how they measure up. 1. His ability to make and conserve money (That lets me out already). 2. The cost, style and age of his car. 3. (This is my favorite) ...

2034. Journey To The Cross II: Jesus And The Hemorrhaging Woman

Mark 5:21-43

Sermon

James W. Moore

One of my favorite authors today is a professor at Loyola University in Chicago. His name is Father John Powell. In addition to being a best-selling writer, he is also a highly popular lecturer, teacher, and counselor. In his book entitled Through The Eyes of Faith, he tells about his prison ministry. About once a month, he visits a prisoner in the state penitentiary. He describes how difficult that is for him personally… the atmosphere is dismal, dark, depressing… and charged with suspicion. However, on ...

2035. Habakkuk

Habakkuk 3:1-19

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

Gratitude is one of the noblest words in the English language. It pictures us at our best. Conversely, ingratitude reveals a person at his or her worst. "How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!"2 lamented King Lear. Thoughtful people everywhere, of all ages, faiths, and cultures have extolled gratitude. Let us think of gratitude as it relates to our American Thanksgiving. For most of us, Thanksgiving means eating. First we stuff the turkey then we stuff ourselves. We go to a ...

2036. Francis of Assisi: a Faith for Every Day

Sermon

Jerry L. Schmalemberger

A Prayer attributed to St. Francis Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is ...

2037. In The Heavenly Places

Ephesians 2:1-10

Drama

Robert F. Crowley

Theme: It is best to have all the answers about how to enter heaven before you need them. Summary: It's never stated in the Bible that entrance into heaven is easy. Two candidates lining up at the pearly gates express two opposing views, one quite worldly and the other simply trusting in Jesus. But who is this third person helping the worldly-wise person? He seems to have all the answers. Are the answers any good? Playing Time: 5 1/2 minutes Setting: Just this side of Heaven's pearly gates Props: None ...

2038. The Future Shapes the Present

1 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Sermon

Harold Warlick

Sometimes you and I read the Bible as if it were a blast from the past. In reality, it also sends us future messages about what it means for each of us to be a child of God and a disciple of Jesus Christ. Scripture is often out ahead of us, inviting us to live a richer and nobler life today. In essence, today’s epistle lesson is a fax from tomorrow concerning how Christians are to respond to the great promise of God’s return or reappearance before humankind. A necessary piece of equipment for many modern ...

2039. Divide and Destroy

Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon

Harold Warlick

One day at a city gate two women were arguing over a baby. King Solomon said, “Well, first take a sword, cut the baby into two equal pieces, and give each mother a half.” Of course, you could only divide the baby by destroying it. The most vital items in our faith are like that. You can only divide them by destroying them. They are entities, not quantities. The Holy Spirit is an entity. Each part belongs to every other part. The Bible itself is an entity; it is an organic whole. In our modern mindset, ...

2040. The Majesty And The Misery

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever noticed that there is a very fine line between pain and laughter? Sometimes we laugh at a joke because we can breathe a sigh of relief that it happened to someone else and not to us. I read recently about a born loser. I doubt that the story is true. Strange things do happen in life, however. A young man knocked on the door of an expensive home seeking odd jobs to earn money. The owner suggested he should paint the porch using the green paint in the garage. A few hours later, the young man, ...

2041. Who Will Wipe Away Their Tears?

Revelation 21:1-27

Sermon

King Duncan

TIME magazine, January 27, 1992: There is an article that will tear your heart out. It is titled, "Corridors of Agony." It tells the stories of children caught in the almost hopeless jungle of our juvenile courts. There is Antwan, age 10. His mother warned him about the drug dealers who hang around the playground where he spends hours each day. A mother's warnings are no match for threats by street thugs, though. These thugs know how to shield themselves from the law. They keep a small child nearby when ...

2042. Entitlements

Luke 16:19-31

Sermon

King Duncan

Did you read about that Arab sheik out in California who has a limousine that is 66 Â½ feet long? True story. It's a white Lincoln Town Car that can carry 36 passengers. It's in two pieces with a hitch in the middle like a tractortrailer so it can bend around corners. It has five axles. A normal Town Car is 18 feet long; most city buses are only 40 feet but this baby is 66 Â½ feet long. It has two fax machines, cellular telephones, TV sets, love seats and a microwave. It's going to get a satellite ...

2043. Where Heaven And Earth Meet

Genesis 28:10-22

Sermon

King Duncan

Darrell Davis wrote in to Reader's Digest with a funny story about his son Stephen. Stephen was a firm believer in a non-violent ethic of living, so it took the Davis' by surprise when their son chose to fulfill his college physical education credits with a course in tae kwon do. Stephen's partner in the class was a gentle young Japanese woman named Maki. Maki also believed in the non-violent ethic, so she and Stephen worked well together. They learned as little martial arts as was necessary to pass the ...

2044. God Is Now Here

Luke 2:1-7

Sermon

Paul E. Flesner

Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr once observed that the Christmas event can only be spoken about in poetry. He went on to comment that over the centuries preachers have analyzed it in their sermons and have turned Christmas into dogma. "Dogma," he said, "is rationally petrified poetry." I think I understand what he means. He means that Christmas speaks to the heart. As I reread the Christmas story, images of Bethlehem and the shepherd's field flooded my mind. I kept "seeing" the darkened sky and the village not ...

2045. On Level Ground

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A Sunday School teacher was checking with her students one day to see if they knew the people with whom Jesus lived. "How many of you know who Matthew was?", she asked. Not one kid raised a hand. "Well, then," she said, "what about Luke? How many of you know who Luke was?", she asked. And again, the class just sat there and no one said a thing. She tried again. "How about John? Do you know who St. John was?" And still the children just sat there in dead silence. Finally the teacher said, "Well, what about ...

2046. On Level Ground

Luke 5:1-11

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

2047. Life, Death, and Judgment

Romans 14:1-12

Sermon

Jeff Wedge

In 1741, Jonathan Edwards preached a famous sermon with the title, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." In great detail Edwards spoke of the wrath people rightly faced when they confronted the judgment of a God who was angry at the way the people had failed to do what they were called to do. While many people understand only this much about that famous sermon, and hold it up as an example of the worst sort of preaching meant to terrify those who hear what is said, the sermon itself is actually quite ...

2048. Prayer: A Way of Life

James 5:13-20

Sermon

Richard Gribble

Once there was a monastery in the woods that had fallen upon hard times. In the past it had been a thriving community that was well known and respected throughout the region, but over the last generation the monks had died one by one and there were no new vocations to replace them. Besides this, the monks did not seem to be as friendly to each other. Something just wasn't right. The Father Abbot was quite concerned about the future of his monastery, now consisting of himself and three brothers and, thus, ...

2049. Yesterday, Today, and Forever

Acts 8:26-40

Sermon

Ron Lavin

A pastor in Indiana went to visit an 87-year-old man named Ermil, who was a hospital patient. A member of his church told the pastor about this old man who was an acquaintance. "He's not a believer, but he is really in need," the church member said. "I met him at the county home for the elderly. He's a lonely old man with no family and no money." The pastor was busy taking care of his large congregation, but decided to see the old man. On the third visit, Ermil said, "I'm not very religious, and I don't ...

2050. Down the Up Staircase

Genesis 11:1-9

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Whose life will be a staircase for God''s descent to earth? The tower of Babel would seem like pretty short stuff compared to today's architectural wonders. Buildings are now built so tall that engineers design flexibility into their frames, allowing them to sway in the swirling winds without damaging the integrity of the structure. Our cities are so filled with sky-scraping boxes that we have created whole new weather and wind patterns within these steel and concrete canyons. A few creatures have even ...

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