Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic

Showing 2101 to 2125 of 4942 results

2101. A Theology of Work - Labor Day

Deuteronomy 5:1-33

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Labor Day Weekend. Our unique American end-of-summer holiday that celebrates work by not working. Wonderful! Most of the world observes May 1st as Labor Day, but not us. The September date was chosen way back when because it was halfway between the 4th of July and Thanksgiving. September 5, 1882 saw the first American Labor Day parade. It was held in New York City with 20,000 participants carrying banners calling for 8 hours for work, 8 hours for rest, 8 hours for recreation. Samuel Gompers, the founder ...

2102. God the Boggler

Psalm 8:1-9

Sermon

David E. Leininger

We made it!!! Pass out the tee-shirts that say "I survived Y2K!" Some have probably had to deal with millennium-sized hangovers, others are still in the process of sweeping up millennium-sized piles of confetti, and the rest of us are generally relieved that millennium-sized fears of Y2K-related disasters never happened - no computer blow-ups, no terrorist attacks. We made it! No Rapture either, by the way. Some of those who sport the bumper stickers on their cars warning, "In case of the Rapture, this car ...

2103. The Best Birthday Ever

Psalm 90:1-17

Sermon

David E. Leininger

St. Paul's 40th Birthday. And some of you here in 1998 were here in 1958. Things are different now, of course. Churches change and neighborhoods change and even whole societies change. We know that WE change as we get older. I remember the days when it seemed that Christmas or a birthday would NEVER get here; and now I think, "Is it here again ALREADY?" You too? LOTS of things change with age. Not long ago, someone noted some of the more obvious adjustments.(1) It was entitled, "YOU'RE NOT A KID ANYMORE ...

2104. Angels

Psalm 91:1-16

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Familiar stories. Two of the approximately 300 direct or indirect references in scripture to angels. That is a lot of talk about angels. Lots MORE talk in the world. Best seller lists regularly have popular titles about angels; book stores have whole sections devoted to angels. On TV Patty Duke hosted an NBC special called "Angels: The Mysterious Messengers." Michael Landon starred for five years as an angel sent to earth to assist mortals in "Highway to Heaven," and CBS currently has one in the same vein ...

2105. The Original "Average Joe"

Matthew 1:18-25

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Do you know the name Melana Scantlin? She is a former NFL cheerleader, a former Miss Missouri. She is beautiful, she is blonde, she is brainy. Melana is the beauty who squared off against 16 "beasts" in television's latest surpassingly strange reality series, "Average Joe." The premise for the show was that, while it is a no-brainer to be attracted to a hunk with washboard abs and $50-million in mutual funds, it is something else to fall for someone who is plain and unexceptional, a toothy geek with a ...

2106. All I Want for Christmas

Luke 2:8-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

All done? The rush about over? Any problems? If you were shopping for people like me, there were probably some - I am difficult to shop for. Not that I am so picky or finicky, it is just that, what I want, I buy. No need for anyone else to get it for me, I already have it. If I do not, it is probably too big or too expensive, so I forget about it. Thus, folks are stuck with going for golf balls or cologne or ties -- items which are pretty prosaic, but they are safe, and I can always use them. This does not ...

2107. Ready or Not, Here He Comes!

Luke 3:1-20

Sermon

David E. Leininger

John is an amazing character, isn't he? Not what we would expect as we come up to Christmas. What if, riding atop the last float of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, there was not jolly old Saint Nick, but a wild-eyed John the Baptist dressed in a glorified burlap sack? Even the perpetually perky Katie Couric would wince as she offers parade commentary from her reviewing stand, not quite sure what to say. But this is not mid-town Manhattan and this is no Macy's extravaganza. It has been something of a ...

2108. Good News For Parents And For Kids, Too!

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

How many of you made New Year's resolutions this year? Hold up your hand. Now, how many of you have already broken at least one of those resolutions? Weight Watchers and Nutri-System and all the other diet plans have their biggest months in January. Did you hear about the notice that appeared in a church bulletin: "Weight Watchers will meet this Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Please use the large double door at the side entrance." Some of us have resolved to pursue an exercise program. One fellow says that he doesn' ...

2109. Future Tense

Luke 12:54-59

Sermon

King Duncan

For nine seasons, "Seinfeld" was the toprated comedy on the air. It dominated the Thursday night television lineup. But the show almost didn't make it to the airwaves in the first place. The first few episodes didn't test well with audiences. Audience members had a number of discouraging things to say about it. The character of Jerry received a "lukewarm reaction," and was considered by the test audiences to be "dense and naive." The character of George was labeled a "wimp." The whole thing was rated as " ...

2110. An Unforgettable Day

Luke 2:41-52

Sermon

King Duncan

The September 2002 issue of More magazine carried an article titled, "The Day I'll Never Forget." It was an interview with prominent people about where they were and what they remember from the most momentous events in American history. Janice Aldrin recalled the giant, rocket-shaped cake her family and friends ate to celebrate the day when her dad, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, first set foot on the moon. Former Olympic track star Madeline Manning Mims remembered the terror she and her teammates felt at the 1972 ...

2111. Lazarus Laughed

John 11:17-37

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I have always felt sorry for Lazarus. I mean, dying once is bad enough; but this poor fellow had to go through the whole ordeal a second time! And for what? At first glance, it seems as though he was recalled to this earth for the mere purpose of fortifying his sister’s faith. Then he would have to go through the process of dying once again. We are all familiar with the story. Jesus receives the news while He is in Perea that His friend Lazarus is ill. He says, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I ...

2112. Love Is Extravagant

John 12:1-11

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

“But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’ “ (John 12:4-6) You’ve got to admit that Judas had a point. His was the voice of sweet reasonableness. “Let’s not let ourselves get carried away,” he said, “Let’s not jump off the deep end. This is wasteful extravagance. This costly perfume could be sold and the money given to the poor.” Never mind that the author of the Fourth ...

2113. Secretary to Saint Peter

Mark 1:1-8

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

MARK’S GOSPEL IS THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOK IN THE WORLD! So says Prof. William Barclay of Scotland, the dean of New Testament Biblical commentators. Why? Because, says he, It is agreed by nearly everyone that Mark is the earliest of all the gospels, and is therefore the first life of Jesus that has come down to us. (Daily Study Bible, Phila: The Westminster Pres, 1956. P. xiii.) In other words, if there had been no Gospel of St. Mark there would have been no Gospels. Period. It is an intriguing thought. And ...

2114. Sine Qua Non

Mark 12:28-34

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

I read somewhere that a new Guinness World Record has been set for the world’s shortest sermon. An Episcopal priest stood up one Sunday morning, walked to his pulpit, stood there for a moment, and said one word: “LOVE.” Then he sat down. I know, some of you would like me to attempt a sermon like that one day. But it is not that easy. The word “love” is capable of many different meanings. Love is what a mother gives to her children. Love is what a thrice-divorced Hollywood actress is supposed to have for a ...

2115. The Amazing Holy Week Equation

Philippians 2:1-11

Sermon

Paul E. Robinson

One of the typical difficulties of days like today is connecting the ritual and annual stories of Palm Sunday with the stuff you came in here today worrying about! Okay, so Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey 2,000 years ago. Hey, that's cool. But, you say, I'm worried about paying for repairs to my Chevy so I can ride into Buffalo to go to work! Okay, so the people were all excited about Jesus and waved palm branches at him. That's a neat image, you say, but I'm more concerned about whether the ...

2116. Grace in the Midst of Limited Resources

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Sermon

Glenn McDonald

Year after year Stumpy and Martha attended the fair in their home state, and every summer it was the same story: Stumpy was tantalized by the old-fashioned bi-plane in which anybody could take a ride for ten dollars, and Martha was disgusted by such an obvious waste of money. "Ten dollars is ten dollars," she would always say. And Stumpy would go home without his airplane ride. One year Stumpy said, "Martha, there's that bi-plane again. I am 81 years old and this year I want to go for a ride." Martha ...

2117. The Cross: God's Answer To Our Deepest Needs

Colossians 2:8-15

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

A popular monk in the Middle Ages announced that in the cathedral that evening he would preach a sermon on the love of God. The people gathered and stood in silence waiting for the service while the sunlight streamed through the beautiful windows. When the last glint of color had faded from the windows, the old monk took a candle from the altar. Walking to the life-size figure of Christ on the cross, he held the light beneath the wounds of the feet, then His hands, then His side. Still without a word, he ...

2118. Don't Worry Be Happy!

Luke 12:22-34

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

If you ask me to name the top ten songs on the popular music chart, I couldn't do it. But I do listen to popular music, and often times it teaches me. The song from which I got the title for the sermon was popular many years ago. But I wasn't preaching through the Gospel of Luke then, or dealing with Matthew's record of the sermon on the Mount. So it's only now that I can use this popular song as a springboard for a sermon. You remember it. Here's a little song I wrote. You might want to sing it note for ...

2119. Thorns and Thistles

Jeremiah 1:1-19

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

We modern-day Christians are not called to be prophets in the Old Testament sense of the term. We must remember that when preaching from this text. An Israelite prophet was one who had the ecstatic experience of standing "in the council (i.e., the heavenly court) of the Lord to perceive and to hear his word" (Jeremiah 23:18; cf. 1 Kings 22:13-23; Isaiah 40:1-8). He was then sent as a messenger of that council to tell where, when, and why God was at work in Israel's life. Old Testament prophets had new ...

2120. Living by a Promise

Genesis 15:1-18

Sermon

Elizabeth Achtemeier

The preacher who confronts the three stated texts for this Sunday once again faces the confusing situation of wondering how on earth the three lessons are related. Perhaps several answers are possible, but to my mind, all three of them have to do with living by a promise. In the context of our Genesis text, Abraham and Sarah and their households have obeyed the command of God and left Ur of the Chaldees (v. 7; cf. 11:31), settled temporarily at Haran in Mesopotamia, and then journeyed on to Canaan, the ...

2121. Being A Man of God

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Some of you have known me long enough to know that one of my favorite theologian is Charles Schultz, the artist who gave us the wonderful Peanuts cartoons. In one of my favorite cartoons, Lucy comes storming into the room and demands that Linus change TV channels and then threatens him with her fist if he doesn’t. “What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?” asks Linus. “These five fingers,” says Lucy. “Individually they are nothing, but when I curl them together like this into a single ...

2122. Equipping the Whole People of God: Penultimate Questions

1 Peter 2:4-12

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Some of you have known me long enough to know that one of my favorite theologians is Charles Schultz, the artist who gave us the wonderful Peanuts cartoons. In one of my favorite cartoons, Lucy comes storming into the room and demands that Linus change TV channels and then threatens him with her fist if he doesn’t. “What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?” asks Linus. “These five fingers,” says Lucy. “Individually they are nothing, but when I curl them together like this into a ...

2123. The Prize of the High Calling of God

Hebrews 11:1-40, Philippians 2:12-18

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

I am intrigued by bumper stickers. Someone was smart. Since modern Americans spend so much of their time in cars, why not turn the bumper into a kind of chrome or, alas with modern cars, plastic bulletin boards. Thousands would get the messages as they come near the car in front of them. It was a brilliant idea. Religious folks have not missed this communication opportunity. So you have the traditional bumper sticker message: “Honk if you love Jesus”. And the more avant-garde, “In case of the rapture, this ...

2124. The Prize of the High Calling of God

Philippians 3:12-4:1

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

2125. The Church: An Enclave of Resistance v1

Romans 12:1-8, Romans 12:9-21

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Last September, there was a groundbreaking service for a Catholic cathedral that is going to be constructed in Los Angeles. The Diocese of Los Angeles commissioned the famous Spanish architect Jose Rafael Moneo to design the building. Their hope is that the cathedral will be completed by the beginning of the millennium. It’s to be a pectacular witness to the glory of God. There were models of the cathedral at the groundbreaking service and on the basis of the models a Los Angeles Times reporter wrote a ...

Showing results