Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 2126 to 2150 of 4934 results

2126. No Particular Place To Go

2 Samuel 11:1-27

Sermon

Timothy J. Smith

It was the last week of summer when some boys who had spent the summer playing together became restless and bored. School would start the next week and they found themselves not knowing what to do, wearied from all the other summer activities that they had enjoyed. On a hot August afternoon the boys decided to play a round of pitch and putt at a local golf course. At least this would give them something different to do and keep them from complaining to their parents about how bored they were -- which was ...

2127. How To Plant An English Garden

Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34

Sermon

William G. Carter

A service club gathers for lunch each week in a nearby hotel. After lunch and a little business, someone from the group usually introduces a speaker. Club members rarely know in advance what the program will be. They may hear from a Mexican exchange student, a tax attorney, or a team of skydivers. They discover the topic when they arrive. Anticipation was high when one speaker arrived with a carousel of slides. Much to the chagrin of many, he was introduced as a landscaper with an interest in English ...

2128. Lent 1

Luke 4:16-30 · Psalm 103:1-13

Bulletin Aid

Jack Brownlee

ORDER OF SERVICE Opening Words L: Let us worship our Creator, the God of Love. P: God continually preserves and sustains us. L: We have been forgiven with complete understanding. P: Through Jesus Christ we have received the full love of God. Hymn "How Firm A Foundation" Prayer Of Confession (Unison) Forgive my sin and cover my transgression, O Lord. I acknowledge my sin and pray unto thee in a time when thou may be found. Thou art my hiding place, O God. I seek preservation in thy word. Encompass me with ...

2129. Advent 2

Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 3:1-20, Philippians 1:1-11

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Luke, the Gospel for the Year, wants the entire story of Jesus, as he knows it, to be told, not only to Theophilus, but to the larger audience who will read his gospel. This Sunday's theological task is to retell the story of John the Baptist's ministry, so as to show John's role in the advent of Jesus in his baptism and the beginning of his ministry here on earth. John might be called the "connector," because he "connected" the prophecies of the Old Testament to the coming of Christ as ...

2130. Vacillation - Pontius Pilate

Sermon

Ron Lavin

"... Suffered under Pontius Pilate ..." you say in your creed each Sunday. Millions of Christians speak my name every Sabbath and connect it with the suffering of Jesus Christ. They point their finger at me and speak my name along with Judas and Herod. Let me tell you my side of the story. Let me tell you about my suffering at the hands of Jesus of Nazareth. We Romans were the conquerors of Judea, but she refused to be conquered. I was the governor, but she refused to be governed. My appointment as ...

2131. Encounters With Christ I: Jesus & the Man Born Blind

John 9:1-12

Sermon

James W. Moore

Recently, I ran across a “fascinating list” that carried this intriguing title: “Great Truths About Life That Little Children Have Learned.” Let me share a few of these “great truths” with you. (1) “ No matter how hard you try you cannot baptize a cat.” (2) “When your mom is mad at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair.” (3) “Never ask your 3-year-old brother to hold a tomato… or an egg.” (4) “You can’t trust dogs to watch your food for you.” (5) “Don’t sneeze when somebody is cutting your hair.” (6) “ ...

2132. Love Over Logic

Luke 13:1-9

Sermon

Carl Jech

Those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, No. (Luke 13:4-5a) Reward and punishment! A basic fact of life! In San Francisco there is a chain of pastry stores called "Just Desserts" - a clever name with more than one level of meaning. "You've been good. Treat yourself! You deserve a reward." But many of us would also think: "Too many of these rewards and my just desserts will be obesity and ...

2133. The Yoke of Christ

Matthew 11:25-30

Sermon

"Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. The yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light." (St. Matthew 11:29, 30 TEV) Life is full of questions. One we frequently ask, consciously sometimes and unconsciously other times, is this: how can I find some rest? Some people ask that question quite literally. They have trouble sleeping. They have insomnia. If Sominex can't do it, then how can I find some rest? they ...

2134. The Golden Gift

Drama

A Christmas play based on a scene from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo Program Notes Our play is based on an incident which comes early in one of Victor Hugo's greatest novels, Les Misérables - ("The Wretched Ones"). This book was published while Hugo was in exile in England in 1862. It was written as a social novel in which he made society itself the heavy in the piece. The novel was received with mixed reactions. One reviewer called it "his pernicious book." Another more charitably wrote: "It is ... the ...

2135. Let God Be God

John 3:1-21

Sermon

Dean Lueking

What an Immense Privilege is Ours! Today it is with an especially deep sense of gratitude and humility that I preach the text chosen for this sermon. Think of it - we come together in faith, health, and freedom to worship the living God. He welcomes us. He knows us by name. He invites us to know him by name. These are all wondrous and momentous gifts. Just to be able to know God and to proclaim the truth of his being here among us and his being for us is the first privilege of life. At times we are tempted ...

2136. 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 ...

2137. Pentecost 24

Mal 1:6-14, Lev 2:1-16, Mic 3:1-12, Am 5:18-27, Ru 4:1-1, 1Th 2:1-16, 4:13-5:11, Mt 23 and 25:1-13

Sermon Aid

CSS

THEOLOGICAL CLUE If a congregation happened to be following the readings listed in Lutheran Worship, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod's revision of the Roman Ordo and the LBW lectionary, the people would have caught the eschatological clue last Sunday; the Lutheran Worship lectionary follows the older Lutheran practice of abandoning the numerical progression of the Sundays in Pentecost and assigning the same three sets of readings - always eschatological - for the last three Sundays of Pentecost. The ...

2138. Claim Your Ministry

Matthew 20:20-28

Sermon

Robert Bachelder

"but whoever would be great among you must be your servant." - Matthew 20:26b Augustine wrote: "So deep has human pride sunk us that only divine humility can raise us." This point was not lost on St. Martin, the famous soldier-saint of France. The story goes that one day he was praying and there appeared to him a figure robed like a king with a jeweled crown and gold-embroidered shoes. The voice said to him: "Martin, recognize him whom you see. I am Christ. I am about to descend to the earth and I am ...

2139. Job’s Joy

Job 38:1--41:34

Sermon

Richard F. Bansemer

Two brief Old Testament lessons introduce the sermon for today. The first is from Job 38, the first two verses: "Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: ‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?’ " The second lesson is from the 55th chapter of Isaiah, verses eight and nine: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." ...

2140. Forever His

Romans 14:1--15:13

Sermon

Raymond Gibson

Do you remember the first time you fell in love? I do, and it was a wonderful experience, both exhilarating and painful. I was fourteen years old and a high school freshman when it happened. The young lady’s name was Joyce. She had long brown hair and dark brown eyes, and I was quite certain she was one of God’s own angels. I fell in love with Joyce the first time she let me carry her books home from school. I bought her a Pepsi Cola that day, and when she accepted it, I felt like a knight of the Round ...

2141. John the Baptizer

Isaiah 40:1-31, Luke 1:67-80, John 1:19-28

Sermon

Warren Thomas Smith

Any great event requires preparation. Significant movements do not merely appear. There must be necessary groundwork, anticipation. The Bible sublimely illustrates the way God raised up heralds who announced the coming ministry and message of Christ. Chief among them is John the Baptizer. We seldom associate John with the birth of Jesus. This is understandable. He was but an infant himself at the time Mary and Joseph journeyed to Bethlehem. Yet, he is so much a part of the announcement and the expectation ...

2142. Surprise!

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon

David E. Leininger

Do you like surprises? Some folks do. Not I. I do not like bad surprises at all and only tolerate good surprises. In general, I prefer NO surprises. I realize that life is full of surprises though, so they will come whether I want them or not. Some will be bigger than others, of course. Ask Mary. She surely got a MAJOR surprise. There she was, doing the dishes or sweeping the floor or sitting engrossed in the latest Harlequin Romance or whatever young Israelite girls did in those days when suddenly ...

2143. Connected

John 15:1-17

Sermon

King Duncan

A newspaper reporter went to interview a successful entrepreneur. "How did you do it?" he asked. "How did you make all this money?" "I'm glad you asked," the entrepreneur replied. "Actually, it's a rather wonderful story. You see, when my wife and I married, we started out with a roof over our heads, some food in our pantry, and five cents between us. I took that nickel, went down to the grocery store, bought an apple, and shined it up. Then I sold it for ten cents." "What did you do then?" the reporter ...

2144. Managing Your Anger

Romans 12:9-21

Sermon

King Duncan

Have you ever gotten so angry with your boss that you wanted to walk out the door? Not just walk out the door, but to exact a little revenge in the process? Advice columnist Jeffrey Zaslow once asked his readers that question. Here is what he got: Several waitresses and secretaries said their most satisfying career moves were out the door. Gina, a Woolworth's waitress, told how her boss once offered a ten-cent raise, "as a big favor." Gina saw it as a big insult, and her customers egged her on to quit. It ...

2145. Do You Know This Man?

John 6:25-59

Sermon

King Duncan

Actor Tony Randall, famous for his role as Felix in The Odd Couple, once had an experience that surely was the inspiration for a current credit card commercial. Randall was in a jewelry store in New York City. The store's owner recognized him and became very excited. He declared that Randall was his all-time favorite actor. What a treat it would be for his wife, the man said, if she could talk to the Tony Randall. Randall graciously agreed. So the man called his wife, and Randall had a short, pleasant ...

2146. To Whom Shall We Go?

John 6:60-71

Sermon

King Duncan

Some of Jesus' followers were beginning to leave him. His teachings were too difficult for them. So he turned to the 12 and asked, "Will you also go away?" Peter's plaintive reply lives forever, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." "Lord, to whom shall we go?" We can scarcely imagine anyone other than Peter saying this. It seems unlikely that this would have been the first response from the critical ...

2147. Food for the Fed-up

John 6:25-59

Sermon

Donald B. Strobe

Some years ago I had a friend who was on a 300-calorie-a-day diet under a doctor’s supervision. 300 calories! That boggles the mind! I inhale 300 calories just smelling the aroma of a good pizza. But my friend on the three-hundred-calorie-a-day diet lost sixty pounds, and as a result reached his near-ideal weight in a very short time. But one cannot subsist indefinitely on a 300-calorie-a-day- diet. Sooner or later there must come and end to the dieting, for starving oneself in this manner is highly ...

2148. Building a House (Mother's Day)

Luke 6:46-49

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

As most of you know, I don't always preach a thematic sermon for special secular holidays such as the Fourth of July Sunday, Memorial Day, Mother's or Father's Day. It's also rare that I preach a sermon on a single theme, such as racism, war, abortion, pornography, poverty. But, hopefully, my sermons address all these pressing issues in the context of Scripture, as that scripture presents itself in the order of my preaching. For you who wonder about that approach to preaching and the fact that we don't ...

2149. Christ Signs The Letter Of The Church

Colossians 1:15-23

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Donald English is one of the most outstanding Christian communicators I know today. He was in our church a couple of years ago, and many of you have heard him. He is providing dynamic leadership for the renewal of the church in Britain, and plays a dynamic role in the World Methodist Council. Donald tells a quaint English story that will speak to us this morning. "In Birmingham, England, there is a store called Lewis's. It's a great chain store in one of the main streets, and wanted to extend. Right in the ...

2150. Put To Death The Old; Put On The New

Colossians 3:1-17

Sermon

Maxie Dunnam

Last week we talked about our lives as Christians being hidden in Christ with God. Today we pick up the theme again, for the larger theme is what it means to live the new life Christ gives us. Baptism is Paul's reference point for talking about life "hidden with Christ in God." A Christian's baptism is not unlike Jewish circumcision, Paul says. In baptism we are marked as Christians. This is a circumcision made without hands, the circumcision of Christ in which we are "buried with Him in baptism." He then ...

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