Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2051 to 2075 of 4933 results

2051. Exodus 34:29-35

Exodus 34:29-35

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

The Old Testament is packed with fantastic tales of triumph and strength and honor. It also unhesitatingly records events of shame, deceit and loss with equal candor. Perhaps no other book so aptly demonstrates this unique compulsion towards almost painful straightforwardness than does Exodus. Here the Hebrews risk everything: They bravely go for broke, experience unheard of deliverances, obediently follow miraculous leadership and finally taste sweet freedom. Yet here also are the records of a whiny- ...

2052. Proper 14

2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33, Psalm 130:1-8, John 6:25, 41-51, Ephesians 4:25–5:2

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter—Psalm 130 First Lesson—King David mourns the murder of his rebellious son, Absalom. 2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33 Second Lesson—The apostle Paul mentions some daily specifics of morality that should reflect Christian faith. Ephesians 4:25–5:2 Gospel—The messianic claim of Jesus is expressed in the metaphor of heavenly manna. John 6:35, 41-51 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. People: And also with you. Leader: Await God’s presence and hope in God’s ...

2053. Proper 25

Psalm 65:1-13, Joel 2:23-32, Luke 18:9-14, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter—Psalm 65 First Lesson—The prophet promises that good times will compensate for hard times. Joel 2:23-32 Second Lesson—The apostle Paul’s second letter to Timothy draws to a close. 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Gospel—In a parable Jesus teaches us how and how not to pray. Luke 18:9-14 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. People: And also with you. Leader: Happy are you to choose to be here, having been chosen by God to be brought near to worship in God’s ...

2054. Proper 4

Genesis 6:11-22, Psalm 46:1-11, Matthew 7:21-29, Romans 1:16-17, 3:22b-28 (29-31)

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

READINGS Psalter--Psalms 46 First Lesson--This is a story of judgment and salvation that will become a parable of the church. Genesis 6:11-22 Second Lesson--Paul makes clear to the Romans that the good news is not that God is tolerant of moral negligence but that there is provision for salvation through faith. Romans 1:16-17, 3:22b-28 (29-31) Gospel--Jesus warns against hypocrisy, which will be exposed, the disastrous end of deceitful living. Matthew 7:21-29 CALL TO WORSHIP Leader: The grace of our Lord ...

2055. Have You Taken Inventory Lately?

Matthew 6:25-34, Psalm 100:1-5, Ephesians 4:17--5:21, Luke 17:11-19, John 6:25-59

Illustration

The renown teacher and author Dr. David McLennon tells a story of his very first job in a small town general store. This was the day before mails and supermarket chains at least it was in his community. At age thirteen he was hired as a handy boy. He would sweep the flour, bag items for customers, put up stock. On one particular Saturday, he recalled, he heard the owner say to one of the clerks "It's that time of the year again, it's time to take inventory." Dr. McLennon wrote that this was a word that had ...

2056. The Resurrection and Life

John 11:32-44

Sermon

J. Howard Olds

Once upon a time there was a man whose name was Lazarus. He owned a nice home in the little town of Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem. Mary and Martha were his sisters. Jesus liked to spend his spare time with these three close friends. He who lamented that He had no place to lay His head found friendship and hospitality there. Martha was a great cook. Mary gave relaxing massages. Lazarus proved to be an insightful friend. What more could anyone want? Then one day Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that ...

2057. Hope to Carry On

Luke 24:13-35

Sermon

Lee Griess

It is perhaps one of the most compelling narratives in all of the scriptures. So fascinating is this scene, in fact, that the gospel writer Luke includes it in detail near the end of his gospel writing. It is a story known well and beloved in the church — the story of two disciples walking down a dusty road to the village of Emmaus, the evening of that first Easter day. Their talk centers around the crucified, dead Jesus. Their words come out slowly, almost painfully, as they trudge their way along, their ...

2058. The True Nature of Happiness

Matthew 5:1-12

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) ...

2059. The 4 Words that Tell What It Means to Be a Christian

Luke 24:50-53

Sermon

Leonard Sweet

Is life becoming more complex, or what? I don’t know about you, but I’m needing some simplicity to offset that complexity. I’m looking out at some of you: we have in our midst some people who are tech-savants, up-to-the-nanosecond in every new app and digital advance, every new social media minutia; and we have in our midst some “off-the-grid,” computer-phobic, techno-anaphylactic Luddites. And then there are the rest of us, the most of us the in-betweeners. But whoever you are, we can agree on one thing: ...

2060. Look Up and Live

Numbers 21:4-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Do you like snakes? Not many do. No other creature on the face of the planet so universally brings forth a sense of revulsion and disgust. True or not, we think of snakes as icky, slimy, nasty, and as our text reminds, dangerous. It seems that the children of Israel, in the midst of their wilderness wandering after the escape from slavery in Egypt, had stumbled on to a location south of the Dead Sea that is infamous for its lethal snakes. "Big deal," they no doubt thought. "Why should we expect anything ...

2061. Finding the Good Woman Part in Us All

Proverbs 31:10-31

Sermon

Donna Schaper

A good woman is a superwoman, or so it appears to me as I read the list of things she can do. In this famous passage from Proverbs, we read that a good woman is precious and that her husband trusts her. A good woman is a good marketer and bargainer, buying fields, trading wool and flax, finding good food from far away. She makes her arms strong! There is certainly no picture of twenty-first-century "typical" femininity here. She is not just precious to her husband or a good businesswoman: she also opens ...

2062. The Faith of a Saint

Luke 6:17-26

Sermon

King Duncan

There is a time-honored story about a man who walked into a bookstore to return a purchase. “It’s a Bible,” he said, handing it to a clerk at the cash register. “Was it a gift?” asked the clerk. “No, I bought it for myself,” he said, “and I made a mistake. “Didn’t you like the translation?” asked the clerk. “Or the format?” “Oh no,” the man said, “the format was clear and the translation was fine. I made a mistake.” The clerk said, “Well, I need to write down a reason for the return.” “In that case,” said ...

2063. You Have a Friend (Memorial Day)

John 14:15-31

Sermon

King Duncan

An anonymous e-mail tells a story we need to hear on this Memorial Day weekend. It’s about an old man and his wife sitting in the parking lot of a supermarket. The hood is up on their car. Evidently they are having engine problems. A young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm walks in the direction of the elderly couple. The old gentleman emerges from the car and takes a few steps in the young man’s direction. He points to the open hood and asks the young man for assistance. The young ...

2064. Daddy, I'm Afraid

Romans 8:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

An ironworker on a skyscraper calmly walked a narrow beam 15 floors above the city street. Even with heavy winds blowing and a driving rain falling, he showed no fear and never hesitated. When he came down to the ground level a man who had been watching asked, “How did you ever get a job like that?” “Well,” replied the ironworker, “I used to drive a school bus but my nerves gave out.” I guess we all have our breaking point. Walking a narrow beam 15 stories in the air is one thing, but driving a bus-full of ...

2065. Hezekiah King of Judah

2 Kings 18:1-16

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

Hezekiah: Second Kings 16 and 17 have suggested that Judah, like Israel, may be heading for exile unless it heeds the prophetic warnings and turns away from its sins. It is at this point in the narrative—after reading of several kings who were not quite like David (Joash to Jotham) and one who was utterly different from him (Ahaz)—that we are now presented with a king who is not merely similar to David in the way that Asa (explicitly, 1 Kgs. 15:11) and Jehoshaphat (by implication, 1 Kgs. 22:43) were, but ...

2066. The Daughters of Zelophehad (Part 1)

Numbers 27:1-11

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

Big Idea: God’s people will receive their rightful inheritance. Understanding the Text The plague of Numbers 25 and the census of Numbers 26 mark the end of the first generation after leaving Egypt and the emergence of a new one. But how does the unit on the daughters of Zelophehad (Num. 27:1–11) fit into this sequence? One answer is that the purpose of the census of Numbers 26 is to determine allotments in the land, and this passage is related to the fair distribution of the land.1 But why does the ...

2067. David Among the Philistines

1 Samuel 27:1-12

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

The Philistine Campaign: 27:1 David’s lack of trust in Saul’s profession of sorrow and promise to cease harming David is made explicit. David assumes that Saul will try again and may eventually succeed in destroying him; he may envisage this destruction coming not through any military prowess on Saul’s part but by David or his men being unable to resist another temptation to act against Saul. The destruction would then come not through death but through the kind of guilt that would destroy David’s reign as ...

2068. The Cure

Luke 4:31-37, Luke 4:38-44

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“I am the Lord who heals you.” (Exodus) Prop: Symbol of Medical Oath and/or Hippocratic Oath on screen (you can also use a rod or staff and rubber snake) And the Lord said unto Moses, Make a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looks upon it, shall live. And so Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. (Numbers) In that ...

2069. Emergency!

Genesis 11:1-9

Sermon

Lori Wagner

“Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men who cannot save…” (Psalm 146:3) “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” (Genesis 9:1) Everyone knows the sound of fire trucks. It used to be the fire bell! Now it’s an ear piercing, unaesthetic, blaring horn, followed by sirens, and ear deafening noise, as the trucks emerge from the station and race to their destination. Every kid is fascinated by firetrucks. Some of us still have our first firetruck. That’s why we watch “Chicago Fire!” But it used to ...

2070. Dance of Love

John 14:5-14, John 14:1-4

Sermon

Lori Wagner

Space is what keeps the world in balance. Everything, even molecules, have space between them. Space is what defines matter. Without space, individual quantities of matter don’t exist. Our sense of self, our individualism, our sense of community, our sense of reality, our sense of who we are in relationship to others, is all dependent upon space. You may notice, now that you’ve been in quarantine for about two and a half months, that you are either seeking more or less space, depending upon your situation ...

2071. Get the Grinch

Titus 2:11-14

Sermon

Charley Reeb

I have wonderful news for you! Because of a brave little boy from Mississippi, the Grinch will not steal your Christmas. 5-year-old TyLon Pittman called 911 and said to the dispatcher, “I just want to tell you something. Watch for that little Grinch because the Grinch is gonna steal Christmas, okay?” When police officer Lauren Develle, heard about the phone call, she decided to visit TyLon at his house in Jackson. When she arrived at TyLon’s house, she assured him that thanks to his tip, the Grinch would ...

2072. God's GPS

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Sermon

King Duncan & Angela Akers

When was the last time you got lost? Was this the result of human error or technological error? Or both? Last year, a news station in Indonesia broadcast a story about an Indonesian groom who went to the wrong wedding and almost married the wrong woman because of an error by Google Maps. It appears that this was an arranged marriage, so the prospective bride and groom did not realize the mistake. Family members from the two families discovered the mistake as they chatted before the wedding. Fortunately, ...

2073. I Love You — If You Know What I Mean

1 John 3:16-24

Sermon

John B. Jamison

The young couple sat together and they gazed into each other’s eyes. One leaned toward the other, but the other hesitated and leaned away. “But, I love you,” the first spoke, “C’mon, it’s okay; you know I love you.” The parent looked into the child’s eyes and said, “You understand that I did that because I love you?” The child held their swollen cheek and tried to nod. “And because I love you so much, it is my responsibility to teach you the difference between right and wrong.” The child tried to nod again ...

2074. Keep The Lid On

Romans 5:12

Children's Sermon

Wesley T. Runk

Object: A box, decorated to look appealing Lesson: Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned. Good morning, boys and girls. How do you like the box I have here? (Let them answer.) I'll bet you are wondering what I have in it. Who would like to guess what I have in the box? (Let them guess.) Those all sound like wonderful things to have in this box, but none of those answers are right. Let me tell you a story ...

2075. Why Remember Others

2 Timothy 1:5

Children's Sermon

Kenneth Mortonson

Purpose: To help children think about the contribution of past generations. Material: You might want to have a library book, a Bible and a hymnal on hand. Lesson: Tomorrow is a national holiday. Do you know what it is called? ... (Memorial Day.) What is the purpose of Memorial Day? ... (Basically, a day to remember the people who died to keep our country free.) But it is also a good time to remember all the people who have helped us in the past. It is important for us to remember others because other ...

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